King of Beasts
by XanXenXan
Summary: If I'd known I would be thrown into a world of magic and dragons after the end of my first life, I definitely would have at least tried to finish reading the damn manga before living this second life. But there is no undo button, and the only thing I can do now is to forge on ahead.
1. Chapter 1- The Fourth Strauss

It hit them hard.

Lisanna's death had affected them all. She had lost her powers. Elfman had sworn to never use a Full Body Takeover again. But the one that took it the hardest is Reydell.

Despite how much she wants to just continue to wallow in sorrow and guilt and go back to lying on her bed wasting her time away, she mustered enough willpower to drag herself out of the house to find her youngest sibling. He is only ten, still too young to be out there training by himself. She is the eldest among her siblings, it is her responsibility to look out for them.

It was her responsibility to look out for Lisanna and Elfman when they went on that botched up job request. She had failed. Lisanna had paid the price of her own mistake with her life.

They wanted to surprise Reydell when they spotted that job request posted on the board in the guild hall. They wanted to defeat The Beast, help Elfman acquire a new takeover form, and then swiftly head back home to tell Reydell of the news when they return home later that day. They wanted to wow him with what the three of them can do as a team, to show their youngest that his three cool older siblings are capable enough to take on an S Class job. Reydell had asked where they were going but they avoided the question. He is still too young to be going out for any jobs above C Rank, so he sits out when the three of them went out on the more dangerous jobs and opted to train himself in Magnolia instead.

They weren't expecting that to be the last time he ever saw his Lisanna-nee.

It is all her fault. If only she was stronger. If only she wasn't so stubborn. If only…

Her thoughts were cut off when she spotted Reydell training at a clearing not too far from their house. This is where the four of them would come and train their magic in their free time. She walked up to Reydell, purposely making her presence known.

"Rey." She spoke softly, her voice still a bit hoarse from all the crying she did in her own room before she dragged herself out to find their youngest. "It's late, let's go back."

Reydell obliterated a huge boulder with a transformed arm of some unknown beast before turning back to speak to her.

"I will be fine on my own here, Mira-nee. I…" He trailed off before speaking up again, his gaze fell back to the ground and not meeting hers. "I need to do something."

Mirajane's own gaze softened at the words. She can understand having your thoughts running wildly into places you don't want them to be if your mind remains idle.

"Your punch earlier uses too much force." She said bluntly. She knew that Reydell had decided to get stronger as fast as possible the moment the reality of Lisanna's death hit him. It is the same line of thought that Elfman has. "It makes it easier for you to overextend yourself and any experienced fighters can take advantage of that."

Reydell gave a nod of acknowledgement before going back to practice on his magic. Seeing that her stubborn little brother is not going to end his training anytime soon, Mirajane decided to just sit on a smooth rock nearby to watch him practice, giving him some pointers every now and then.

Reydell's magic is different. While the three elder Strauss -_two of them now, her mind so helpfully supplied_\- all uses Takeover magic, Reydell's magic is similar yet different.

His magic is Beast Transformation, the same magic that Wolfheim of the Ten Wizard Saints is known to use.

Beast Transformation allows the user to transform into a certain beast. Unlike Takeover, Beast Transformation doesn't allow the user to freely transform between the different beasts or creatures taken over because Beast Transformation doesn't allow the user to takeover anything. For Reydell, the beast that he can transform into is fixed. Users of Beast Transformation will automatically transform into a beast that best suits their nature without them having any say in the matter. Wolfheim is known to be able to transform between three different beasts, but that is his maximum limit. Most users of this magic only managed to be able to transform into one type of beast. Wolfheim's achievement in Beast Transformation magic is already the best among mages known to use the same brand of magic. To put it simply, Beast Transformation doesn't have the same versatility that Takeover can bring.

However, whatever Beast Transformation lacks in versatility, it made up for it in raw power.

Since unlike Takeover, Beast Transformation doesn't require the user to search for creatures to takeover its soul, the user doesn't have to "know" the beast slumbering within him to use his powers to his full potential since he is the beast itself. Every user of Beast Transformation has an 'inner beast' within them, something manifested in their soul the moment they learnt or awaken this brand of magic. To use Beast Transformation properly is to be able to conquer your own inner beast without the inner beast taking control of your mind. You don't need to fully understand it to control it, you just need to be strong enough to suppress its will completely. The only similarity and the greatest danger between Beast Transformation and Takeover in using their respective powers is that Rey has to fight his inner beast to be able to gain complete control of its powers. Most of the time that she, Elfman, and Lisanna used for training is in trying to get to "know" the creatures that they had taken over before controlling them. Reydell doesn't need to do that, so he is able to allocate more of his time during training to improve his combat skills instead and strengthen his willpower for the day he finally takes the next step to gain complete control of his inner beast.

It is still unknown just what kind of beast Reydell has within him thanks to his Beast Transformation magic. Reydell is not yet skilful enough in it to manage a full body transformation, but he can manage enough to transform his limbs. From the looks of it, his beast is probably a hybrid of something canine and reptile since he grows scales and stiff fur whenever he transformed his arm.

Mirajane can only watch in sadness as her youngest sibling poured out his sorrow and frustration into his training, using it as fuel to drive him further. If only she had been better, if only she had been stronger and more vigilant, this wouldn't happen. Reydell's Lisanna-nee would have returned home and Lisanna would purposely smother Reydell with open acts of affection just to publicly embarrass him. Reydell wouldn't need to exhaust himself like this if she is more capable.

S Class mage her ass. She couldn't even protect her own siblings, what good is she?

She picked her brother up gently when he finally collapsed in exhaustion. Reydell had always been the more logical and pragmatic among the four of them. He had always known when to stop training after exceeding a certain threshold. To exhaust himself in this manner is not like him.

Every one of them had changed when they lowered the empty casket into Lisanna's grave. She doesn't know what the future will bring, especially when she now lost her powers, but she will be damned if she loses another member of her family. She may be powerless now, but that doesn't mean that she is useless.

Elfman and Reydell obviously wants to get stronger. If that is what they truly want, then she will help them every step of the way just like an older sister should.

They are family, and family help each other when they need it.

* * *

Magic should be a stuff of legends and fantasy. It shouldn't be real.

And yet, here it is.

Being reborn as Reydell Strauss, the Fourth Strauss sibling, is a surprise since I knew there wasn't such a person. It was a shocking surprise before it changed into a pleasant one. The new family I was born into is tightly knitted. My new parents practically spoiled me while my older siblings all doted on me.

Until my parents suddenly died without any prior warning. They were killed when they attempted a job request on their own as independent mages.

I know they are mages from what they let slip, although I have no clue how strong they were or what kind of magic they used since I never saw them displaying their powers. I was so grateful and happy that I have such a loving family in my second life, too busy basking in the happiness that I forgot that they will die someday, that their deaths in canon was one of the two catalysts that drove my older siblings out of the village and into Magnolia. I remember crying, mourning and grieving for the two people I had grown to accept as my new parents. I was only physically six when the tragedy struck. Mira was only thirteen, Elfman twelve, and Lisanna eleven. We are all too young to be orphans and we have no idea what to do to continue to survive. Mira had worked herself to the bone to try and ensure that we all don't starve ourselves to death.

I don't remember much about the Fairy Tail series, only reading up till the end of the Oracion Seis arc before adulting comes along and whisked me away from manga reading. I knew the Fairy Tail series came to an end, but I have no idea what happened after the Oracion Seis arc and I know that the series was far from finished after the defeat of Oracion Seis by the Allied Forces. If I had known that I will be reincarnated into the world of Fairy Tail where dragons are freaking real, I should have at least finished reading the series. At least I would know what to expect. I knew canon Lisanna died, I know she died from a job gone wrong in subjugating The Beast. I was keeping an eye out for it, but I failed. I hadn't counted on my older siblings keeping the fact that they are attempting that S Class job away from me because they wanted to surprise me with what they can do. They wanted to show me that they are capable of going on S Class job requests.

Because of my failure, one of the three people left that I genuinely consider as my family died. It could have been prevented, but _I failed_. This is all _my fault_.

What would Mira and Elfman say if they ever found out about my secret? Will they hate me? They probably will. I could have stopped the tragedy from happening and looked what happened.

My memories of canon are now a foggy mess although the two events that struck out to me the most are the Phantom Lord arc and the Battle of Fairy Tail. Pretty sure that the Tower of Heaven arc is somewhere in between the two and that the Oracion Seis arc is the last arc to happen before my foreknowledge becomes useless. I don't remember the details, but I remember the gist of it. Hopefully, I remembered these events correctly even if I am unsure what I can do to change things. Do they even need to be changed? What if I made it worse?

When Mira accidentally activated her magic for the first time and we were thrown out of our village because of it, I immediately suggested to head to Fairy Tail without delay, citing the fact that it is currently the strongest mage guild and hence someone will definitely know what to do with Mira's demon arm. Master Makarov had explained to us what exactly is Takeover magic and reassured Mira that no, she isn't a demon, and yes, the power she wields can be controlled.

The rest of us went on to try and unlock our magic after that. Since Takeover is a branch of Transformation magic, that was what Elfman, Lisanna, and I focused on. We were sure that we had the same affinity for that branch of magic like Mira did.

God, talking about Lisanna-nee even now still hurts. I don't think the regret will ever truly go away.

The four of us trained and grew stronger as mages. Mira did end up as an S Class mage eventually and we are all happy for her. Despite her brash and punkish attitude, she has a heart of gold. She loves us with every fibre of her being just as we love her back. We all love each other.

I am the irregular among us since my innate magic turns out to be Beast Transformation magic instead, but it is still pretty close to my siblings' Takeover. There are upsides and downsides to Beast Transformation magic as compared to Takeover. Elfman's Beast Soul is the closest comparison to my magic. While he can utilise and interchange the abilities of numerous beasts without problems with Takeover, I don't have such a luxury. As of now, I can only use the powers of a single beast, a beast that is the manifestation of my nature and no one knows what it truly is until I managed a complete transformation in time, provided I don't lose my mind in the process. The best I can do now is to transform my limbs. The upside is that my raw power is stronger than my siblings when they were my age thanks to Beast Transformation. I also have enhanced healing factors along with enhanced senses, but that's it for now. Hopefully some other perks will pop out when I manage to master my magic in the future.

After we dealt with our own inner demons and help each other move on from Lisanna's death, things changed. Lisanna's room is still kept the same as she had left it before she passed away. It is our own way of remembering her. Mira had the most drastic change, be it in personality and appearance. Her punkish attitude is gone, she now wears _dresses_, and she is now a motherly figure. She had also decided to work as a barmaid in the guild and part-time as a model for the Weekly Sorcerer, something which I don't really approve since I don't want horny males from all over Fiore to ogle at my older sister. However, it is her life, not mine. If she really enjoys working as a model, then so be it.

Elfman decided to be grow stronger and be the man of the house. He trains relentlessly but he had sworn to never use a Full Body Takeover again. One reason for it is the lingering fear of losing control and letting history repeat itself, the other is because he does not want Mira to relieve those horrid moments if she ever caught sight of The Beast again.

For me, my approach is similar to Elfman's. I want to grow stronger as fast as possible. A full body transformation is harder to achieve for Beast Transformation as compared to Takeover but that also means that the reward will be just as great. For now, I will simply focus on strengthening my willpower and increase my proficiency in harnessing magic, so that it will be easier trying to achieve a full body transformation in the future. Like what Mira always say, one small step at a time.

I don't know what the future entails. For all I know, the limited knowledge of canon that I have might have already been screwed just by having me around. The only thing I can do now is to get stronger so that I can protect my family and my guild when the inevitable happens. Lisanna would approve of my thinking from where she is watching me from above, I know it.

I won't let my family down. Not anymore.


	2. Chapter 2- Wendy Marvell

"Are you sure you want to do this alone?"

"Nee-san's right, Rey. I know you want to be a man and this is an important step, but-"

"Mira-nee, Elf-nii." I cut off the words about to form from the mouths of my overprotective siblings. "I will be fine. I can take care of myself."

Mira frowned a little as she checked my bag one last time for anything that I might have forgotten to pack. I can understand why they are so hesitant when I told them I want to try attempting a job on my own without help. They are scared, they are afraid, they are paranoid.

We are all each other have left. We cannot afford to lose another one of us again.

However, they also know that this day will come eventually. You cannot call yourself a true mage if you never attempted a solo job request before. Each of my older siblings have gone through this rite of passage. Every member of Fairy Tail had gone through this at one point in their lives.

It has been almost a year since Lisanna passed away. It is still hard to imagine that our ever-cheerful sister is gone, just like that. Still, we moved on. She wouldn't want us to wallow in our sorrow forever.

My older siblings sent me off as I boarded the train out of Magnolia to Clover Town, the nearest station the train can drop me at before I made my way to my destination by foot. My job is a simple one to get rid of bandits hiding in the forests at the north of the town. All I have to do is to find them and then beat them into a pulp before handing them in to the authorities.

I caught sight of my reflection in the train's window when I took my seat. Like my siblings, I have white hair. I style it upwards in a spiky manner since I can never get it to flatten. I am similar to Mira and Lisanna in that I have their same blue eyes, but my skin colour takes on a similar tan to Elfman. Heh, if I didn't know any better, I thought I look a little like Archer from the Fate series. All I need is a red coat and a pair of black-white twin swords to complete the image.

I still am unable to manage a full body transformation, but I can feel that I'm close. I am almost certain that the beast within me is not one that is known to man since none of the beasts that the guild knows of matches the description of what I can transform into. My arms became muscular with claws as fingers and stiff, dark brown fur as its hide. My transformed legs are similar to those of bipedal canine creatures. We are almost certain that the beast I have within me is a werewolf if it wasn't for the fact that I can also grow out scaly wings.

Yes, _scaly wings_. That was the biggest surprise of my life when they first sprout out of my back without warning.

The only conclusion we can come to is that my beast is probably a hybrid of monsters manifested and fused into a single being, with the body of a werewolf-like creature as the main body. A chimera, perhaps?

I met up with the client who posted the request in Clover Town, who did not seem happy that he got himself a kid for the job. But hey, this is a B Rank quest at the most, what else is he expecting? Big shots like Erza and Laxus definitely won't take on B Rank quests!

And so, with my client's doubtful gaze watching my back as I took my leave to complete the job assigned to me, I set off for the dense forests to the north of Clover to complete my mission.

* * *

"Wendy, are you sure it is here?"

"Erm…" Wendy took a sniff in the air for confirmation. "It should be here somewhere… there!"

Carla turned to where Wendy had pointed in excitement upon spotting the medicinal herb they had been tasked to gather. Master Roubaul had said that it is time for Wendy to try and get some experience in completing jobs. He decided to send her out for the tamer ones that do not need her to see combat since she is more of a support mage than a combatant.

"We will need a few more." Wendy said absentmindedly as she carefully plucked the herb from the ground and store it in a container she brought along just for this purpose.

"I know." Carla replied as she looked at the map of the area given to them by the client once more. "How about we try searching at that spot over-"

Carla's sentence wasn't completed as a huge explosion of noise and magic occurred not too far from where they are. The two of them crouched down instinctively as some of the smaller trees were uprooted from the force.

"W-What was that?!"

"I don't know!" Carla shouted back. "But it cannot be good!"

They both stood up to make a run for it, but Wendy suddenly pause in her tracks and turned around.

"C-Carla! I smell humans! Someone could be injured!"

Carla cursed in her own mind. Wendy and her bleeding heart! This is no time to be risking her own life for strangers! Who knows what is out there causing so much damage?!

She knew she had taken too long to form a reply when Wendy dashed off towards the source of the commotion without another word. Carla let out a long string of choice words as she chased and flew after the young Dragon Slayer. Wendy is just too kind, that kindness will get her killed one day.

They reached the edge of a spacious clearing and hide themselves in a huge bush. They immediately recognised most of the men in the clearing to be bandits from their attire. These men are fighting a boy their age who has one of his arms transformed into something similar to those of a beast as he smacked them around with it.

"C-Carla, we have to help him!"

"These are _bandits_, Wendy!" Carla hissed out as she lowered her volume so that their position wouldn't be exposed. "And you are a support mage, you are not suited for combat! And he already has it covered!"

"B-But he needs help!" Wendy argued back as she pointed to the kid her age fighting through the swarms of people by his lonesome as they surround him. "There are too many of them!"

"He can handle himself just fine! Just look at him taking the bandits out! _We_ need to get out of here!"

Their argument was interrupted when the boy finally transformed his other arm. Both his arms grew larger. His beast-like arms with claws for fingers and dark brown fur as its hide wrapped around the trunk of a huge tree. With a grunt, the boy uprooted the entire tree before swinging it around like a bat, slamming it into a group of bandits and sending them crashing into blissful unconsciousness.

"_This is ridiculous_!" Carla hissed in disbelief at the sight as she and Wendy both kept their heads down just in case they got caught in the crossfire as well. "Who uproots a tree just to use it to bat bandits away?!"

Somehow, that crazy fighting style worked as the bandits were quickly subjugated after that display. The boy's arms reverted back to normal and Wendy ran through her mind the possible magics that fit the description that she had just witnessed. The boy's magic must be a form of Transformation magic. How is he so strong when he is only just around her age?

"Come out, I know you two are there."

Both Wendy's and Carla's breathing hitched a little but they didn't dare to move. When the boy turned towards their direction, they knew for certain their location has been found out.

Reluctantly, the both of them exited their hiding spot. Carla herself is on alert, ready to call upon her wings in a second and use it to whisk Wendy away at the first sign of danger. Carla doesn't think that the boy means them any harm, but it never hurts to be careful.

"Erm… hi." Wendy said shyly as her meek nature shows itself, instinctively making herself as small as possible. "W-We don't mean to intrude! We-"

"Don't worry, I get it." The boy replied as he waved Wendy's concerns away with a gesture of his hand. "Although I have to ask, what are you doing all the way out here? Name's Reydell Strauss, by the way. I am a mage of Fairy Tail."

"We are here to collect medicinal herbs as per our job request." Carla answered on Wendy's behalf with her arms crossed. "Until we heard the din and Wendy decided to rush here by herself to investigate."

"C-Carla!"

"Wendy? That's your name?" Reydell asked with a tilt of his head and squint his eyes to get a better look at them as he visually scanned them from head to toe, something which got Wendy nervous once more.

"Y-Yes! M-My name is Wendy Marvell. I-I am from Cait Shelter!"

Reydell's eyes visibly widened in recognition. That's weird, he actually knew of their reclusive guild? Carla have to give him props for actually knowing that their guild even existed at all. Most people they met never even heard of their guild's name.

Reydell's surprise only lasted for about a second or two before it subsided. He walked up to them and held a hand out to Wendy.

"Call me Rey. It's nice to meet you, Wendy."

For the first time in a long while, Carla watched as Wendy visibly brightened at finally being able to make friends with someone her age outside the guild.

"I-It's nice to meet you, Rey-san!"

* * *

As it turns out, having Rey around helps them to complete their job faster.

After Rey had sent a signal flare for the Rune Knights to come collect the fallen bandits, he had volunteered to help with their job. Wendy was giddy with joy at the prospect of spending time with her newfound friend and didn't even object to it. Carla cannot help but let out a huff to show her disapproval.

Wendy is too trusting! Granted, Fairy Tail has a good reputation thus far in when it comes to their mages' characters and morals, but still! It is _not_ wise to immediately trust a stranger on your _very first meeting_!

Rey also has an enhanced sense of smell like Wendy, something granted to him due to his Beast Transformation magic. He is more experienced in tracking with his nose and had managed to help them complete their quota for this job in record time. He even gave some pointers to Wendy on how to track using only the sense of smell, something he said that his older brother had taught him.

They completed the mission right before dinner time. Just when Carla thought that this will be the end of any interactions they have with the boy, Wendy asked him out for a meal the moment they returned to Clover. Carla cannot help but roll her eyes this time. _Of course_, ask a stranger out for dinner when they had only known each other _for half a day_. **_Why not_**_?_

Wendy had not stopped talking ever since she and Rey had broken the ice to get to know each other better. Rey seems to be knowledgeable in magic, or at least better than the both of them in this subject. He entertains every question Wendy asked him and told her about his experiences in completing jobs with his older siblings. He told her that his guild has a Dragon Slayer as well, although said Dragon Slayer is usually too rowdy and dense with the tendency to cause wanton destruction so Rey doesn't like to spend time with him all that much.

At this point, Carla feels like she is a third wheel intruding on a date from how the both of them are not paying any attention to her _at all_. She narrowed her eyes at the boy. There's _no way_ some random boy will just appear and place his grubby paws on Wendy! Wendy is too trusting and gullible, it is her job as Wendy's partner to prevent that from happening.

"Well, if you want to talk, you can always send me a letter to this address. We can be pen pals." Reydell said as he wrote something down on the back of the receipt of the meal he had paid for dinner and passed it to Wendy.

Oh **_hell no_**. No way is this boy getting his hands on the innocent and gullible Dragon Slayer that is her partner.

"Great! I will write to you often!" Wendy chirped back happily as she received the slip of paper from Reydell. "This will be so much fun, Rey! I never had a pen pal before!"

So _now_ they are close enough for her to call him 'Rey' without the 'san'? Damn it Wendy, **stop** being so trusting! What if he is a bad guy?!

Even after Wendy had enthusiastically waved Reydell goodbye as he boarded the last train back to Magnolia, she remained standing at her spot and didn't leave even when the train had long since travelled out of sight.

"Wendy. We need to get moving."

"H-Huh? R-Right!" Wendy snapped back to reality from wherever her thoughts were at. Carla sighed as she rested a paw on her forehead. Reydell probably isn't a bad person from what she can see thus far, but Wendy really should stop being so trusting towards everything and everyone.

Judging from how Wendy is walking with a skip in her steps and humming a merry tune under her breath, Carla decided against spoiling Wendy's good mood. She will give her partner a long lecture tomorrow about what to do and what not to do when interacting with strangers after they get back to the guild instead of doing it tonight.

She wonders what Master Roubaul will say when he learns about this?


	3. Chapter 3- Complications

"Nee-san, we should head back."

"Just a little longer, Elfman." Mirajane said softly as her hand brushed the top of Lisanna's tombstone. Within her mind, she imagines Lisanna's face, trying to remember her bright smile and cheery demeanour.

It has been a year since that day.

Reydell stood by their side silently without a word although the two elder Strauss knows that their youngest misses Lisanna too. He just doesn't show it. Reydell had always have a problem in expressing his emotions properly. Lisanna was the one who always managed to get him to open up somehow.

If only she is still here.

The three of them did head back in the end since the skies look overcast and it will probably rain soon. Once back in the guild, Rey went straight to the job request board and picked a job for himself.

"Going for another job so soon?" Mira asked when her youngest brother went up to her to register the job for himself. She took a brief look at it. The location of the job request seems to be near Clover again. Reydell goes back there frequently with how often he picks his jobs to be around that particular area. Maybe he has a fondness for that place?

"More jobs mean more money to spend." Reydell shrugged. "And it's great to take my mind off things for a little while."

"Rey…" Mira said in concern as she observes her little brother. He is not one to share his feelings willingly and she is afraid that there might be something that she and Elfman might have missed. Lisanna's death might have hit him even harder than they imagined and it has already been a year. "Are you alright?"

"None of us are, Mira-nee." Reydell replied as they watched Elfman got himself willingly sucked into another guild brawl. Fighting mindlessly is his coping mechanism whenever he got too moody thinking about Lisanna. Mirajane's own way to deal with Lisanna's departure is to binge cook, cooking a feast that can feed even the entire guild.

As for Rey, he bottles everything up and let it stew when he was initially adjusting to the absence of Lisanna in their lives. There are times when he trained to the point of collapsing from exhaustion, but those instances are rare now. Now, he copes by going on solo missions frequently with little to no breaks in between.

"Just… be careful, ok?" Mirajane resigned to let Reydell go upon seeing the concealed haunted look in his eyes. If he needs to be alone far from Magnolia in order to cope better, then the least she can do is to give him the space he needs.

"I will." Reydell assured her as he took out a lacrima orb from his bag. "Don't worry too much, I will keep in touch with you and Elf-nii as promised."

Mirajane let out a small smile as she patted Reydell on the head much to his annoyance. He dislikes being treated like a child and he hates being so short right now. Mirajane is sure that there will be a day when Reydell will grow to be taller than her, so she will milk every chance she can to baby him until that day arrives.

Her little baby brother grows up so fast.

"Stop it, Mira-nee." Reydell scowled as he brushed off her hand. It only serves to let Mirajane laugh even louder.

With a farewell wave from Reydell to Elfman and after a lot of fussing on her part, Reydell left the guildhall for the train station under their watch. Reydell had always been very sensible and there isn't much to worry about him, but they will never stop fussing over him. He is their little brother.

"I will be out of town tomorrow for a photoshoot." Mirajane informed Elfman after they watch Reydell disappear when he made a turn around the street. Elfman stroked his chin in thought.

"Maybe I should go on a job as well? A true man will always need to keep his skills sharp and polished."

"Just come back safe."

"I will. We all will, nee-san."

* * *

"Rey!"

"Wendy." I said my own hello to the girl my age the moment we met up in Clover. I still cannot believe it at times, that this harmless looking little girl is a _Sky Dragon Slayer_.

I don't know much about canon Wendy beyond what was depicted of her in the Oracion Seis arc. Given how overpowered Dragon Slayers are portrayed to be in the series (_case in point, Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, and Cobra_), I would not be surprised if she turns out to be one scarily strong mage in the future.

Still, I don't care much about all of that. Right now, Wendy Marvell is the only friend I have that is of my age. Physical age, of course. Mentally, I had another lifetime worth of memories even if they are blurring beyond recognition. I cannot even remember my original name anymore since not all of my memories follow me into my second life. The closest person to my age in the guild is Romeo and while I am fine in spending time with little brats like him, Romeo is a little too spoiled for my taste. We don't have much in common anyway. Romeo acts like a little Natsu and I steer clear away from my pyromaniac guildmate even if I know his love for the guild is as fierce as his flames.

However, that leaves me without any friends in the guild. I am not lonely, per say, since I have my siblings and each of the Fairy Tail members are also family to me, but the age gap does make a difference. People tend to treat you like a kid when you are physically one even if you show them that your mind is not in any way behind theirs. I don't blame them for it although I do wish that people will stop trying to coddle me like the kid I appear to be.

Wendy doesn't do that. I always feel more relax with her around. I can be myself without anyone judging me for the 'advanced intellect' I display, something I shouldn't have at the physical age of eleven.

What wasn't portrayed in the manga series that I remember reading about Wendy is that _she is smart_. Extremely so. With her around, I can discuss about the more intricate theories about magic without people sending weird looks my way. The older members always think I act like a little grown-up while the younger ones think that I am no fun. I am stuck in between the two different age groups and I have no common topic to talk with any of them.

I don't have to worry about such things in Wendy's presence since she can keep up with me. From what I can understand, she is also the only one her age in her own guild with Carla as her best friend. I can tell that she is lonely as well.

This is probably the main reason why we gravitate towards each other, to the point that we will purposely choose our missions to be at the same location if we can. Carla doesn't seem to like me all that much initially, but we warmed up to each other after a while. Wendy and I had been keeping in contact through letters ever since we first met. My siblings know that I have a pen pal but they never pry into it, only encouraging me to make more friends. I already dread the day when Mira finds out that my pen pal is a girl since she can be very overwhelming the moment she goes into her 'matchmaker' mode. Hopefully, that day won't come anytime soon.

"My mission is to find and locate the nest of Crying Songbirds! What about yours?"

"Beat up the wild Vulcans in the area and drive them off." I reply to Wendy's question as we made our way to the edge of the town and head into the dense forest where we have grown accustomed to seeing each other. Carla floated by our side in a bored manner as she gave a sweeping look at our surroundings. "There are reports of increased Vulcan sightings and my job states that I need to deal with it."

Both Wendy and Carla gave a visible shudder when I mentioned the Vulcans. They had a close brush with those perverted apes once and that wasn't a pleasant experience for them.

"Let's find the nest of the Crying Songbirds first." I diverted their thoughts away from the Vulcans as I pushed a silver of magic into my ears to enhance my hearing. My senses are already naturally sharp thanks to the passive ability of my Beast Transformation magic. Pushing magic into my senses only makes it even more so.

Wendy followed my example and both our ears picked up the signature calls of these songbirds, which sounded more like a mournful cry than anything else. Hence, the name Crying Songbirds. We both made our way towards the direction of the songbirds while exchanging silent whispers about what had happened in our lives in the time we hadn't seen each other, not wanting to scare away the songbirds that might be nearby.

I love my family and I love my guild, but they are always a little too rowdy for an introvert like me who just loves his peace and quiet. Wendy loves to chatter the moment she puts her shy personality aside, but she is not noisy. Being around her is always an enjoyable experience since I can relax and just be myself around her.

For someone like me who just wants to enjoy the occasional silence in this noisy world that cannot seem to shut up, her presence is a nice change of pace. I like being around her.

* * *

Of course, being stuck in a world that was once considered fictional in my the one I was previously in means that things will have to go haywire somewhere at least once in your life. Especially so when you are a mage of Fairy Tail.

After helping Wendy with her job and marking out the nests of the Crying Songbirds that we had located on a map so that she can pass her findings back to her client, we went to track the Vulcans down. As it turns out, the problem was way bigger than anyone thought it to be.

After further investigation, the real reason behind the increased sightings of Vulcans that made their way to Clover is because a new apex predator had decided to make its home here in this forest on the north side of the town, robbing the Vulcans' home away from them and forcing them out of the forest and towards the city. The new introduction is an S Class monster, to be precise, one that I had never remembered seeing in the series but is notorious in this world that is now my reality.

The Diamond Lizard is a destructive quadrupedal carnivore that is able to grow up to forty feet in length and a height of about a small house when it reaches adulthood. Its tough glittery hide that shines like diamond gives it a natural defence that is resistant to most damage thrown at it. It is even partially magic resistant, enabling it to simply bulldoze its way through anything unfazed. This tough defence is why this monster ranks as an S Class monster in Fiore. It takes a lot to even bring just a single one of them down.

And right now, the three of us are stuck with dealing with this lizard that none of us are ready for. As if our luck isn't bad enough, this Diamond Lizard is even bigger than the ordinary adult lizards of its species. Its incredible sense of smell had picked us up even before we detected it. Now, we are doing all we can to continue running and get the hell away from here.

"Keep going, don't stop!"

"I… am trying!"

Wendy responded between gasps of breath as she tried her best to keep running. Carla decided to help out as she grew wings and picked Wendy up before flying overhead.

Seeing that the lizard travels faster on its huge trunk-like legs than we can run away from it, Wendy decides to use her magic to even the playing field.

"Fast wind that run the heavens, Vernier!"

With the appearance of a bright whitish blue magic circle from her hands, Wendy increased our speed significantly as we sped away from the apex predator of the forest. The presence of this Diamond Lizard had just bumped up the job to an S Class one. None of us are ready for this shit.

What we weren't expecting is for the lizard to **_jump_**. The monstrous reptile landed in front of us and forced us to brake to a halt, cutting off our escape route before opening its gaping jaws that reeks of rotten flesh.

"Run!"

Carla changed directions immediately as she continues to carry Wendy in her paws. I had told them to just fly high and away to get help but Wendy was adamant on not leaving me alone. Seeing that we will be screwed if no one comes to help us soon, I had taken out the lacrima orb that I use to communicate with my siblings to try and get some help from them or the guild, fervently hoping that someone from our guild is nearby to aid us. However, the force of a swing of the tail from the Diamond Lizard earlier had sent us flying back and my lacrima orb shattered into a million pieces when we landed on the ground before we tried to make our great escape.

I had only _just_ established connection with Mira right before the lacrima orb broke, so I hope the sudden disconnection of communication before I can send any message through is enough signs for her to know that something is wrong on my end.

A loud creak and a boom got me turning my head back slightly as I witnessed the Diamond Lizard tearing out boulders from the ground and hurling it at Carla to drop her and Wendy down from the skies. The two of them screamed in fright as Carla weaved through the rain of rocks as best as she can.

I have to do something about this.

With a war cry, I transformed my arms as I used the extra strength from the transformation to intercept and crush the flying boulders into crumbling pieces.

"Rey!"

"Wendy! Carla! Get out of here! Go get help! I will stall as long as I can!"

"I'm not leaving you alone! If we fight, we fight together!"

In an uncharacteristic display of bravery from the usually meek girl, Wendy landed and stood behind me as she began casting her spells.

"Power of the stout arms that tears heaven, Arms!"

I can immediately feel the increased surge of power rushing through me. Without further ado, I transformed my legs as well and dove right in, sending an uppercut into the jaws of the Diamond Lizard and snapping them shut. I gave a hiss and shake off the pain from my fists when I retreated. Punching the lizard hurts like a fucking bitch with how tough its diamond-like skin is.

There's no way we can win this. We are still too inexperienced and weak.

The Diamond Lizard lunged and I met it head-on with a downward punch to clamp its smelly mouth shut once more, using my beastly strength to stop it in its tracks. The lizard defies my expectations as it pointed the tip of its tail in Carla's direction and shot those diamond-like scales on its skin at her, the force of the surprise attack that nailed her is enough to knock her unconscious and bleeding profusely on the ground.

"CARLA!"

Wendy was immediately by Carla's side as she frantically began to cast a healing spell to save Carla's life. I know she can do it, but that is on the condition that there isn't a frenzied S Class walking disaster trying to eat all of us for snacks.

I need to get the lizard away from here.

"Wendy! Grab Carla and go!"

I didn't wait for a reply. Summoning more of my magic, I tossed the Diamond Lizard's head upwards and sent it careening back a few steps with the heaviest punch I can manage in my current state. Mira and Elfman will chew me out for this later, but I have no other choice. I haven't managed to do something like this yet and my siblings had made it very clear under no circumstances I am to do a full body transformation unsupervised. The dangers of undergoing a full body transformation with Beast Transformation magic is very similar to Takeover in that the user might lose their minds if they do so when they aren't yet ready for it. The fact that Mira was able to use the power of _demons_ without going bat shit insane is testament to her amazing willpower and skill, the reason why she made S Class.

I'm not sure if I can manage a full body transformation as well as she can, but I don't have a choice now. The three of us will all die if I continue to hesitate. Carla is already on death's doors when this wasn't supposed to be the case. She had made it alive to at least the start of canon, not _dying out here bleeding on the ground_.

I need to end this, for both Wendy's and Carla's sake.

_Full Body Transformation: Beast Transformation!_

I have no idea how to describe the feeling of fully turning into a beast.

The pain is excruciating. New bones and limbs are formed as I physically grow larger and larger until I tower even the Diamond Lizard itself. My torso is covered in scales while my back and sides are covered in stiff, hard fur that is a shade of dark brown. I can feel my face morphing as I grew a snout of some kind, confirming my suspicion that my inner beast is something wolf-like. I can feel something emerging from the base of my spine as I grew out a reptilian tail with bony spikes protruding at the end. I can feel something painfully emerging from my back as limbs that aren't supposed to be there grew out and spread. I can now fly.

As if the pain from the full body transformation isn't enough trouble, I can feel my mind slowly descending into a feral haze. This was what Mira and Elfman had cautioned me about when tapping into powers of creatures that is yet too strong to be controlled with my willpower and magic. I may not have a need to take over a beast, but I already have one in the form of what people calls 'the inner beast' the moment I learnt Beast Transformation magic. The inner beast is something that is manifested in your soul the moment one starts to learn or awaken Beast Transformation magic. My inner beast is fighting for dominance in my mind, the primal and destructive side of me against my rational thoughts. I need to end the transformation within minutes if I don't want to descend into a mindless beast like Elfman did in his full body takeover.

Mustering whatever sense of rational thought I still have over my mind and holding onto it to keep myself sane, I heard myself giving a bestial roar as I charged in and slammed my shoulder into the Diamond Lizard, knocking it far away from Wendy and Carla. The muscle memories of the various combat moves that I was taught by my siblings kicked in as I grappled with the S Class beast. Finally managing to grab its tail, I swung it and threw it even further towards the depth of the forest before flying after it, intending to finish the fight.

From my vantage point in the sky, I can see the Diamond Lizard getting up on its feet. I dove down and used my weight to crash it into the ground, the earth giving way to form a huge crater from the impact. The lizard snarled and chomped on my left shoulder as I roared in pain, but I ignored it. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my mind, I can feel the unfiltered and primal bloodlust taking over more and more of the rational and human side of me as I punched the Diamond Lizard in the face repeatedly to get it to let go. Being in my beast state feels like you are a third party watching the happenings from the point of view of the beast, almost like a movie, just that you are able to control its movements and feel what it feels.

My beastly instincts screamed at me what to do as I used my claws to hold onto the Diamond Lizard's neck. My claws sank as deep as I can into the hard diamond scales before I dragged them across it.

The diamond scales fell off as I forcefully ripped them from the Diamond Lizard's skin like how a fisherman descales his fishes. The reptile roared in pain and finally let go of its hold on me. I took the chance to sock it in the jaw once more. The wounds I suffered from its earlier bite hissed angrily as steam emerged from the injuries before it closed up rapidly. My enhanced healing factor is kicking in to aid me, giving me an advantage over the Diamond Lizard.

I tried to push down the feral delight in experiencing such a thrilling battle, pushing down the instincts of my inner beast and forcing them down as much as I can that keeps encouraging me to kill, to maim, to spread blood everywhere as I continue to slug it out with that S Class beast. My human and rational side is helping to quell the growls of encouragements from my inner beast as it formulates a plan to help end this battle as quickly as possible.

The lizard uses its powerful legs to make another lunge and jumped. I took this given opportunity as I crouched low before headbutting its belly, knocking the wind out of the creature. My claws grabbed onto one of its legs as I circle throw it onto the ground and landed it on its back. Its unprotected soft belly is now in my sight.

An opportunity.

My sharp claws went to tear into flesh of the Diamond Lizard relentlessly even before I can think. The Diamond Lizard screamed in pain and tried to get back up but my feet stomped its head down into the ground, not allowing it to move in its helpless state. The lizard's tail tried to shoot out more diamond projectiles, but my own beast form has fur and scales that gives me enough protection from such a comparatively underwhelming attack. I relished in delight as I continue tearing into the gut of the Diamond Lizard as its blood sprayed everywhere: onto my claws, my face, my torso, the ground, and everywhere near us. I enjoyed the symphony of terrified screams the creature is echoing out as I can hear my own throat giving roars in delight.

_No, this is not right. This isn't me. This is my inner beast gaining control and I need to stop it!_

The Diamond Lizard is already dead but my claws are still digging through its belly and tearing out its entrails. I tried to focus my mind to undo the transformation.

_It's not working._

To my horror, I cannot force the reversal process no matter what I do. Little by little, the haze in my mind gets denser and I can slowly feel my mind slipping away.

No, not like this. I promised my siblings that I will be back. It cannot end like this!

_Transform back!_

The roars in my mind only grew louder.

_Transform back damn it!_

My inner beast does not relent, nor does it want to hear my plea. _No, please, no_! I want to go back!

_Transform…back…_


	4. Chapter 4- Assistance

She did it, she managed to save Carla.

Carla's wounds had healed, and it looks as if she didn't suffer a single scratch in the first place. However, her partner is still unconscious and asleep. That is fine. As long as her friend is alright, everything is fine.

Wendy looked up as she cradled the unconscious Carla in her arms, searching for any signs of the transformed Reydell. Is he alright?

She was shocked when she first witnessed Reydell giving in to the power of his magic and voluntarily attempting a full body transformation. She knows just how risky it is to do that at his current level, he had told her all about it before and what it did to his siblings.

_Please, let him be alright._

She still remembers how his body had glowed and morphed right in front of her eyes. She watched as his face transformed into a visage a mixture of a wolf with a hint of something reptilian, his white spiky hair elongating and becoming a mane that extends from his head. She saw how he grew a reptilian tail with white bony spikes on its end and how scaly wings emerged from his back as he gave a painful roar. His body turned a shade of dark tanned brown as scales and fur of that same colour grew along his entire body. Black scales covered his torso for protection as it defended him from harm.

She won't deny it, that Beast Transformation really scared her.

Still, Reydell chose to become a beast to protect her and she needs to help him. So, she ran as fast as she could, following the trail of destruction of wrecked trees with diamond scales littering the way acting as guiding lights. She found herself in a destroyed segment of the forest and held in the urge to retch from the sight of all the blood spilled.

The Diamond Lizard is now dead, lying on its back and its neck twisted at an odd angle. Its belly was ripped open and its entrails dug out and flung around messily. The beast that is now Reydell kneel down motionlessly on both its knees with its head down. Its arms remain unmoving and its bloodied claws only twitching slightly. The amount of blood coating Reydell worries her, but she calmed herself down when she realises that the blood doesn't belong to him.

"R-Rey?"

As if breaking a spell, the soft whisper of his name got the beast to slowly look up and turn its gaze towards her. The beast growled, but it feels more like a warning for her to go away than a proclamation of a predator that is hunting its prey. Cautiously, Wendy walked up to the behemoth in slow steps, not wanting to startle Reydell whose mind must be fighting for dominance with his inner beast.

"W-We are alright. You can transform back now."

The beast gave a louder growl, fangs bared, as he lowered his head closer to her but she wasn't deterred. With the unconscious Carla in one arm, Wendy raised her other arm and reached out a hesitant hand, finally making contact with the beast that is Reydell as she touches his forehead. Reydell let out another low beastly growl but made no moves to harm her.

"Rey, it's me, Wendy. Remember me?" She held back a gulp as she tried to help to bring back the kind boy that is her first friend she made outside her guild. His human side must be fighting an uphill battle, she just knows it. She will offer any aid she can.

"Let me help you, ok?"

The crack of lightning startled them both as the bolt of thunder zipped to her. She felt an arm grabbing her and pulled her away from Reydell.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Her scream seemed to cause something to snap within Reydell's mind as the beast howled into the sky and spread its wings.

"Bickslow! Freed!"

The bolt of lightning which is actually a huge blonde man with a lightning shape scar on his face barked out orders to two other mages that had arrived with him. Another female mage also contributed by sending in explosive dusts at the beast, causing Rey to roar in pain before taking flight.

"Baryon formation!"

Wooden dolls flew into the air and began to bombard magical beams at Rey with pinpoint accuracy. A green-haired mage drew runes with his sword and created a barrier that contained Rey in a matter of seconds.

"_Stop_!" Wendy cried out as she struggled in the grasp of the lightning mage. "**_Stop_!** _Don't hurt Rey_!"

Her words got the attention of the four mages.

"Wait, what did you just say?" The lightning mage questioned in a callous manner as he picked her up in a rough manner to allow them to look at each other in the eye. "Did you just call that thing _Rey_?"

"He is _not_ a thing! He is Rey! He transformed to try and save me from the Diamond Lizard!"

"Rey as in _Reydell Strauss_?!" The mage with a visor for a mask shouted over the din as Rey continues to slam into the runic barrier with great force in his mindless rage. "The short white-haired kid with tanned skin?!"

"Yes! Please! Don't hurt him! Help turn him back to normal! _Please_!"

"Fuck." The lightning mage cursed out loud as he dropped her down unceremoniously and ran a frustrated hand through his yellow hair. "**_That_** is Rey? Gramps will skin me if he dies on my watch."

"What do we do now, Laxus-sama?!" The green-haired mage called out as he visibly strained himself to maintain the barrier that is now barely containing the beast. "I cannot hold him in for much longer!"

"I will beat the shit out of the brat! Freed, see if your runes can find a way to turn him back! Bickslow, your Figure Eyes is next if Freed's runes fail, see if you can try to command Rey to transform back to normal! Ever, provide support fire!"

Without further ado, the mage identified as Laxus charged right towards Rey just at the exact moment Rey broke out of the runic prison. A blast of thunder dropped down from the sky and struck Rey, destroying one of his wings and turning half of his body into charred, smoking flesh.

**_"NO!"_**

Wendy's cries went unheard as more and more lightning bolts struck at Rey repeatedly at speeds too fast for her and even Rey to keep up. However, what happened next caught them all by surprise.

Rey's enhanced healing factor kicked in once again as his wounds closed themselves up and healed in the blink of an eye. However, the previously injured spots now grew harder scales and the destroyed wing formed back with spikes along its frame, something that wasn't there before it got obliterated.

Another column of lightning crashed down onto Rey but this time, Rey actually withstood it without much effort as his new wing acted like a shield and managed to mitigate most of the damage from the attack. A savage punch caught the lightning mage named Laxus and sent him spiralling into the air before he righted himself, his left arm held in front of him defensively as he used it earlier to block the strike. The lightning mage wiped off the blood oozing from his cut lip with the back of his hand as he looked on in disbelief.

"What the fuck?! How is the brat suddenly able to withstand my attack?!"

"It's like he… evolved!"

The female mage they refer to as 'Ever' is right. Evolve would probably be the best suited word to use in this case. Rey's beast form had obviously changed from its initial state. Its new additions are probably not just there for show. Does his inner beast actually have the capability to evolve on the spot to even any disadvantages it faces in battle?! It's like Rey can instinctively mutate his beast's body at will to evolve, to match any opponents he is facing!

Spikes are now starting to grow out of Rey's shoulders like some twisted form of shoulder guards. The wooden dolls tried to fire laser beams but aborted their attacks when these newly grown spikes were suddenly shot in their direction. The force of the shots was enough to fell the nearby huge trees that dotted the forest.

"Laxus-sama! If Rey's beast state can evolve, then we need to end this as quickly as possible in a single attack!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Laxus snapped at the Rune Mage. "_How_ the hell are we supposed to turn him back even after we defeat Rey in this state?!"

"Let me try!" Wendy pleaded as she held in her tears. "My magic can help!"

"Kids should let the grown-ups handle-"

"_Please_! I beg you! _Please_!"

The mage known as Bickslow shut his mouth at the sincere plea and looked at Laxus, who simply gave a grunt as he dodged Rey's enraged swipes.

"What's your plan, kid?! And you only have one try!"

"Get me closer to Rey! I can turn him back with my magic as long as I can make contact!"

"You three! Hold Rey off for a while! I will get the squirt to Rey!"

"Got it!"

Putting down the still unconscious Carla at the side gently and far away from the fighting, Wendy allows herself to get picked up by the lightning mage as he zipped around the beast with her in his arms, dodging the furious attacks. The other three mages increased the ferocity of their attacks to get Rey's attention on them instead of her and Laxus.

_"Oh shit."_

Laxus let loose another colourful string of curses when Rey's tail was swung towards them. It would have smacked into the both of them, but it suddenly twists itself away and hit a tree instead, toppling it in the process. Wendy's eyes widened at the sight and she felt her hopes soaring.

"Rey is still there! He is fighting back! Quick! Get me there!"

Laxus didn't say another word as they both landed on the top of Rey's head. Wendy released herself from Laxus's grip and quickly knelt down, placing her hands on Rey as she called upon her magic, reaching into the deep recesses of her mind as she recalls Grandeeney's teachings. Rey needs her power now more than ever.

She will **_not_** allow her friend to come to harm.

With a determined shout, she invoked her spell.

**"Cure!"**

* * *

The first thing to assault me was the sensation of pain throbbing throughout my entire body. The second was the sudden eruption of noise around me as I tried to open my eyelids which felt as heavy as lead.

"-ey! Rey! Can you hear me?!"

_Mira?_

With a groan, I finally managed to open my eyes and saw my worried sister looking down at me. I had never seen her so haggard and her eyes so puffy ever since Lisanna's death. Elfman hovered right behind our elder sister, an extremely worried look of concern on his face as well.

"…Mi...ra..nee…"

_How long_ was I out for my throat to be this hoarse?! I croak even worse than a toad!

"Thank goodness! You are alright!" My sister exclaimed in relief as she hugged me close to her and sobbed, uncaring of how she looks like right now. My older brother sighed in relief as he ruffled my hair with his big hand, sending me a tired but relieved smile as well.

"Welcome back, Rey." My brother greeted with a warm look in his eyes.

"So the brat is up, I see."

Laxus's gruff voice got us turning towards the door of the room I am in, which I recognise to be the guild's infirmary. He is leaning against the wall near the door with his arms crossed and an unpleasant scowl on his face. There are bandages wrapped around his left arm and a plaster on his cheek, but otherwise he looks fine.

"Don't do something stupid like that again, brat. The Thunder God Tribe won't always be there to save your sorry ass."

And he walked out.

After Laxus's departure, my caring sister immediately bombard me with a hundred and one questions to ensure that I am indeed feeling fine although my mind is still swimming. I tried to recall what went on before I found myself here. What was I doing before this? _Why am I here?_ What did I-

_Wendy_

The look of horror on my face must have been obvious as Mira immediately cupped my face with her hands to get my attention back on her.

"Rey, calm down. Focus on me. The girl that was with you is fine. She is asleep next door. If it wasn't for her, we would have lost you."

I forcefully calmed my breathing down as Mira rubbed soothing circles on my back. The memories of fighting with the Diamond Lizard came rushing back in but I try to block it out. I will deal with those later.

"Is she-"

"She is fine, just exhausted from trying to get you back. Master had to use a sleeping spell on her to get her to rest, she wouldn't leave your side otherwise." Elfman reassured me as he sat down by the side of my bed and handed me a glass of water. I gulped the contents down greedily to quench my parched throat. "You only just arrived here back in the guild less than an hour ago. Porlyusica is on her way as we speak. Jet had gone to get her."

"How are you feeling?" Mira asked in concern as she gently turned my face to look at her. "Is the beast's voice still in your head? Anything out of the ordinary you feel lingering in your mind?"

"No, I feel fine." I replied as I tried to process _what the hell actually happened_ after I lost my mind to my inner beast. Wendy was the one that turned me back? Did Wendy use her Dragon Slayer magic to somehow revert me back to normal and dragged my human mind back? I didn't accidentally kill anyone, did I?

I have so many questions to ask but my head is still spinning and unable to formulate a proper question.

"Sleep, Rey." My sister hugged me close to her and I can feel the wetness dropping down onto the top of my head as she sobbed in relief. "Just rest. Everything is alright now, we will watch over you."

I didn't have a chance to protest. With a tap of her finger on my forehead, I went out like a light.

* * *

After Porlyusica was done assessing my injuries and chewing me out for being so reckless, I managed to get the full picture of what had went on from my siblings.

Mira did suspect that something was amiss when the communication between our lacrima orbs was cut off prematurely. She was on a photoshoot out of town, so she contacted Master Makarov for help, who then quickly check to see who was around the area where my job was at. Luckily for us, the Thunder God Tribe happened to be passing by and Master Makarov quickly contacted them to check on me. The rest of it is history.

Wendy was the one who managed to get me back from descending further and falling prey to my inner beast. Her own healing magic brought me back, and she healed my wounds as best as she can when the Thunder God Tribe rushed me back to the guild for emergency treatment with her tagging along. She was asleep when I regained consciousness, having exhausted herself trying to heal me. Porlyusica had also gave her and Carla a brief look and after confirming that the still sleeping duo are alright, left the guild without much fanfare.

Right now, the entire guild is gathered in the guild hall with Wendy at the centre, making her extremely nervous from all the attention trained on her.

"U-Um… um…My name is Wendy Marvell. I am from Cait Shelter… nice to meet all of you!"

She did a quick polite bow and the adults immediately cooed over her. Carla seemed extremely annoyed from how my guild members doesn't seem to have any sense of privacy or personal space.

"Hey, what is your magic?"

"Are you an idiot? Obviously it is Healing magic! She healed Rey, didn't she?"

"I was just being polite!"

"You wanna fight?!"

Wendy seemed alarmed at the sudden twist in development of the conversation between the guild members and quickly answered the first question directed at her.

"I… I am the Sky Dragon Slayer! I can use Dragon Slayer magic!"

I had never seen my rowdy guild mates so dumbstruck before. If only I have a camera on hand right now to take a picture.

**"COOOOL!"**

"Another one like Natsu?"

"Hey, show us what you can do!"

The warm welcome Wendy suddenly received caused her to revert back to her meek personality as she found herself overwhelmed. She shot a pleading look at me with her brown eyes, trying to send me a silent message to get her out from the sudden attention showered on her.

"Alright, alright, get your stinky hands away from her. Shoo." I waved the boisterous members away and stood in front of Wendy, allowing her to hide behind my back. I know how timid and shy she can be around strangers. She is uncomfortable in dealing with crowds. She can make friends one person at a time with no problems as long as she has time to warm up to them, but suddenly saying hello to a large bunch of rowdy strangers is still too much for her.

Wendy peeked her head out slightly from where she hid behind me with her hands on my shoulders, placing me in front of her like a shield.

"_Awwww_, so **_cute_**! Our little Rey already has a _girlfriend_!"

"How old is he? Eleven?"

"And already he has a better track record than you losers. You shitheads can't even get yourselves a girl."

"Way to go, Rey!"

"_Shut up_." I scowled and sent these idiots flying with a transformed arm before reverting it back to normal. "Get your dirty minds out of the gutter. We are just friends."

"_Suuuurrreee_." The entire guild chorused in unison, and I had to rein in the urge to go full beast mode and wreck these idiots.

Stupid, idiotic guild mates of mine.

On the other side of the guild hall not far from where we are, I can see Happy trying to get Carla to notice him as he tries to impress her with his collection of fishes. From what I can tell, Carla is definitely not impressed with how she turned her nose up and away from him in a dismissive manner.

Good luck, buddy. May the force be with you.

"Hey!" Natsu pushed his way through the crowd before standing in front of us. He is a little too close to Wendy and she looked extremely edgy from how her personal space was suddenly invaded, so I stood in between her and Natsu to ease her already panicked mind.

"Oi, I am talking to her and not you, Rey. Go away."

"Can't you tell that you are making her uncomfortable? What is your brain made of? Ash?"

Natsu gave me a scowl as we glared at each other. We had never got along all that well with each other since our personalities are very different. I don't even know what Lisanna-nee saw in him. I don't like Natsu's brash attitude and how he can destroy everything casually without any thoughts of the consequences of his actions. Can't he see that the reckless behaviour that he displays while he goes on completing his jobs scares people? Sure, our guild compensates for the damages caused by our mages, but it doesn't change the fact that he had destroyed buildings that civilians had called home even if they were rebuilt in the end. I wouldn't like it either if a random stranger destroyed the house I am staying at even if they repair it afterwards. It just wouldn't be the same. If Lisanna's room was destroyed, I _will_ rip the instigator into shreds no matter the excuse or whether reparations were made. Her room is the one place in our house that me and my siblings will never allow anyone else to touch.

With a click of his tongue, Natsu ignored me and immediately bombard Wendy about questions of her dragon parent. Needless to say, by the end of their conversation, the two of them still have no clue what had happened to their foster parents. I have no idea either, I didn't read that far into the series before I found myself in this world.

Still, Wendy had warmed up to Natsu by then as she followed after him the moment he suggested that he show her a thing or two about Dragon Slayer magic. Wendy has close to no offensive spells in her arsenal since Grandeeney didn't get around to teach her those before she disappeared into thin air, so she took up on Natsu's kind offer. It has only been a day, but my wounds had already healed. I have the strongest healing factor in the entire guild thanks to the inner beast dwelling in my body. Add Wendy's magic and Porlyusica's medicine into the mix, I made a full recovery after a single night of sleep.

Laxus had told Master Makarov, who in turn told me and my siblings after I had awoken, that my beast has the ability to evolve and mutate on the spot, allowing me to adapt to any kind of situations. There is still a debate on whether 'evolve' or 'mutate' is a better word to describe the abilities of my inner beast, but I prefer the word 'evolve' because it sounds cooler. Since my abilities is unlike anyone had ever heard or seen before, I am on my own when it comes to training my magic and exploring its limits. My siblings promised to help me, since the fact that I nearly lost my mind to my inner beast had gave them a good enough scare. We will start training in the large clearing behind the guild building starting tomorrow under Master Makarov's supervision. It will be safer in this manner as I try to explore what my magic is truly capable of.

On the topic of Laxus, he is the hormonal and moody guy that I remembered he is before the end of the Battle of Fairy Tail arc. He hasn't got to the point where he starts doing things to the extreme like what was portrayed in the manga, so he is still somewhat bearable. I at least know that he cares for the guild, since he did try his best to get me back without killing me. I know he can easily destroy me even when I was in my fully transformed state. It was a miracle I survived a battle against him even if he was holding back. Laxus is just that strong.

The moment I was dreading came around dinner time. Mira was insistent in inviting Wendy to our home and personally cook dinner for her and Carla, something which they have no reason to refuse and cannot refuse, considering that it is _Mira_ that we are talking about and she _can_ be very persuasive. My siblings want to thank her for saving me. There isn't a problem to this, except for one.

"So, she is your _pen pal_ that you have been writing to all this while, right?" Mira asked as we all sat around the dining table eating our meals.

"Yes." I said through gritted teeth, already knowing where this conversation is heading and trying to live in denial at what is definitely about to happen next.

Mira gave an approving look to Wendy as the gleam in her eyes visibly glow brighter. (_How did she do that?_) Wendy sensed the danger behind it as she nervously ate her meal, pointedly not looking in our direction.

"And the reason why you go to Clover so frequently is to meet her there, yes?"

"Yes."

Here it comes. Someone, _anyone_, save me from my sister.

"_That is just like a date_! You two should meet up more often!" Mira exclaimed as she clasped her hands together and rest her cheeks against it with a slight tilt of her head, cooing at the two of us. "You two are so _cute_ together!"

Have I ever told anyone that my sister _loves_ to matchmake people together? That she is the queen of gossips and a certified drama queen? This is one reason why I was hesitant to tell her about Wendy. Mira can be overwhelming when any form of possible romance becomes the topic of discussion. Wendy is already blushing in embarrassment at what Mira was insinuating. Elfman and Carla wisely tried to make themselves invisible. Smart choice.

"Mira-nee, Wendy and I are not what you-"

"I can already see it! Ten years down the road, you and Wendy will-"

There she goes again. There's no stopping my sister and her hyperactive imagination now.

"Sorry about that. My sister can be… a little too _imaginative_." I whispered to Wendy, who is sitting beside me at the dining table as we ate our meal. Mira is still going on and on about what kind of kids Wendy and I will have in the future, trapped in her own little world of delusions. I can tell that the poor Dragon Slayer is trying her best not to scoot away in embarrassment. Her face is already redder than a tomato.

"I-I understand." She mumbled back, poking at the piece of meat on her plate with her folk shyly before eating it.

"-And your kids will have your hair and her eyes, or maybe her hair and your eyes, and-"

God, what a long and embarrassing night this will be.

* * *

"You sure you don't need me to accompany you back?"

"W-We will be fine!" Wendy reassured me as she and Carla prepare to board the train heading back to Clover before taking a carriage that will bring her back to her guild. When I was first carted back to Magnolia with Wendy tagging along, her guild master was informed by Master Makarov that Wendy will be staying in Magnolia for a few days due to what had happened, but Master Roubaul is expecting Wendy to be back soon.

"Just give me a call when you return, alright? So that we know that you reached Cait Shelter safe and sound."

"We will!" Wendy said with a bright smile before hopping onto the train. She waved her farewell to me through the window next to her seat and Carla did the same. My siblings and I sent her off and watched as her train departed.

"Our little Rey grows up so fast!" Mira sobbed dramatically as she produced a handkerchief from somewhere and dabbed the side of her eyes to wipe the imaginary tears streaming down her face. "Only eleven this year and he already got himself a girl. _Wah_~~"

"She is just a _friend_." I emphasised, trying to see if my words can knock some sense into my drama queen sister.

"Everyone started out as friends." Mira temporarily aborted her crying and gave me a smirk. "Why else do you think I gave you and your little girlfriend lacrima communication orbs for? It's so that you two can progress to the next stage faster!"

I facepalmed and sighed. While I am grateful to her for buying me and Wendy lacrima communication orbs to allow us to communicate with each other more easily as compared to writing letters, I don't need the teasing that comes with it.

"To win the heart of a fair maiden at his age, Rey is a true man." Elfman stated as he crossed his arms and gave a sagely nod of his head. _Come on_, not him too.

"Your words are not helping, Elf-nii."

"I am with nee-san on this. Seeing you and Wendy together, it makes me wonder what I was doing when I was your age!" Elfman wailed dramatically before giving me a bear hug and obnoxiously rubbed his cheek against mine, ignoring my protests. "You are a true man, Rey!"

They are definitely screwing with me. They are getting a kick out of embarrassing me in public.

"Let go of me." I grumbled. "You two are making a spectacle and everyone is watching. This is embarrassing."

"Elfman! Our little Rey doesn't want his nee-san and nii-san anymore! _Wah_~~"

"He has grown to be so independent! He is a true MAN!"

My fingers twitched uncontrollably as I held in the urge to punch some sense into my older siblings, who are now hugging each other in a dramatic and exaggerated fashion with waterfalls worth of tears pouring from their eyes. I love them, I really do, but I can do without all the teasing that comes with being the youngest in the family.

Since I can do nothing to stop them, I turn on my heels and walk back towards the direction of the guild.

"Elfman! Rey is so cold!"

"WHAT A MAN!"

Right now, if anyone asks me whether I know the two idiots trailing after me who are bawling their eyes out, I have no idea who these two idiots are.


	5. Chapter 5- X784

"WE'RE HOME!"

Natsu's loud yelling got everyone in the guild to holler out their own greeting back at their resident Dragon Slayer the moment he walked through the guild door.

"Natsu, Happy, welcome back!" The white-haired woman that Lucy Heartfilia identified as Mirajane welcomed Natsu and Happy with a sweet smile as she continued to serve drinks to the rowdy members.

"You overdid it again! I read about the Hargeon incident in the newspa-."

Whatever that unnamed Fairy Tail mage was trying to say was left incomplete as a flying kick from Natsu sent him soaring together with several wooden tables and stools, splintering them in the process.

"BASTARD! THAT INFO YOU GAVE ME ABOUT SALAMANDER WAS FAKE!"

And just like that, a guild brawl erupted right in front of Lucy's eyes, who is still having trouble believing that she really made it to Fairy Tail after so long.

This is it. She's here, right at _Fairy Tail_.

There are many interesting people there with all sorts of personality. A stripper who doesn't seem to have any sense of decency or shame as he parades around naked showing his junk to the entire world, a bikini clad woman who can drink gallons of alcohol without getting drunk, a large man with white hair that keeps going on and on about manhood but got himself one-shotted with a single punch from Natsu, and a playboy by the name of Loki who shattered her image she has for the famous mage she had read about in the Weekly Sorcerer.

Lucy collapsed on the floor after reeling in from the differences between her expectations of the famous guild and the reality of the members that made up the organisation. None of these mages are normal and they are all freaking **_crazy_**.

Mirajane is nice and possibly the only normal person she has seen here thus far, and Lucy cannot help but fangirl and squeal on the inside as **_the _**_Mirajane_ willingly talks to her. The only thing she cannot fathom is how she treated the violence of the guild brawl in a dismissive manner, saying that '_It happens all the time! You don't have to worry about it_!'

And right after she said that, she got hit in the head by a stray flying glass bottle, causing blood to trail down from her forehead. Yet, all she said was '_Isn't it fun this way_?'

_FUN?! **IT'S SCARY**!_

"Oi! Get the fighting away from Mira-nee you morons! You guys already got her hurt!"

Lucy watched as a little boy with tanned skin and white hair yelled at the rowdy guild. Seeing that he is being ignored, he did the impossible.

"**I SAID DO YOUR FIGHTING _ELSEWHERE_**!"

Lucy watched on and let out a terrified scream when the boy's arm transformed into something resembling those of a beast, growing to be even larger than his own body. With a violent smack, everyone that was unfortunate enough to get blindsided by the attack flew away from the impact, crashing through the walls of the guild and disappeared into the horizon.

_Even a little **boy** in Fairy Tail is that strong?! This is **insane!**_

Suddenly, she feels so inadequate. If everyone in Fairy Tail is that strong, would her application be accepted?

Lucy truthfully thought that the end of the world arrived when everyone in the guild started to amp up their magic, escalating the fights even further than it previously is.

_AHHHH! WHAT IS GOING ON?! SHE IS STILL TOO EARLY TO DIE! AHHH!_

* * *

"So, your name is Lucy?"

"Y-Yeah." Lucy said in equal parts surprise and apprehension from where she sat on the stool near the bar. The little boy who had transformed his arm into those of a beast's earlier gave her a brief appraising look as she fidgeted nervously. She can never forget how he pummelled the rowdy members and knocked them out in a single blow.

_This little boy is so scary! Someone save her from him!_

Her saviour arrived in the form of Mirajane, who had helped her with stamping the guild mark on the back of her hand.

"Now, now, don't be so antisocial, Rey." Mirajane chided as she tapped her finger on the boy's nose, who simply looked annoyed at the gesture.

"I am not." The boy said with a grunt. "Just making sure I got her name right."

It was at that moment that Natsu decided to go get himself a job, but the outburst of another boy who she later found out is called Romeo got everyone's attention. She got the gist of the situation from the conversation between Romeo and Master Makarov, that the little boy is worried for his father and the father should have returned a long time ago. Something seemed to snap within Natsu as he suddenly punched a hole in the request board before storming out of the building without a single word.

_What happened?_

Mirajane then explains to her a little about Natsu's past, telling her that mages of Fairy Tail are all carrying something within them, be it wounds, pain, or suffering.

"Mira-nee." Rey furrowed his brows a little when Mirajane suddenly had a wistful look of sorrow on her face. He looks concerned for Mirajane. Wait, did he just address Mirajane as his sister?! _They are siblings_?!

"I'm fine, Rey." Mirajane reassured Rey with an obviously forced smile. Rey gave a disbelieving look at her, but didn't press on the issue. He hopped off the high stool he was sitting on before waving his goodbye to the white-haired barmaid.

"I'm going off to train, will be back before dinner."

"Stay safe! Don't overdo things!"

Lucy carried on with her conversation with Mirajane after Rey left. And then somehow, even before she realised, Lucy found herself running after Natsu upon Mirajane's request. Mirajane is surprisingly persuasive.

Could this day get any _crazier_?!

* * *

For Lucy, things in Fairy Tail were interesting. Natsu is just overall loud and destructive, always seeking out a fight. The kitty cat Happy is just being his annoying self. Gray can never keep his clothes on for any longer than five minutes to save his life. Mirajane is a kind person with a love for gossip but Lucy learnt quickly to never ever get on Mirajane's bad side. For a barmaid, she is extremely scary. Even the mages in the guild cower in fear when Mirajane threatened them in that deceptively sweet smile of hers. She's not even a mage, right?

The only people that Lucy can currently talk to comfortably without fearing of getting sucked into the guild's usual shenanigans are Levy and Mirajane. Levy and her have a shared love for books, so them hitting it off wasn't surprising. Lucy had struck up a friendship with Mirajane because Mirajane is always around whenever Lucy visits the guild. To add on, Mirajane's personality just made it easy for anyone to talk to her comfortably.

Lucy soon realised that Mirajane and her siblings came in a package deal. If Lucy sees her around, chances are Elfman or Rey would also be somewhere in the guild. The two of them do go on missions as mages, but Rey is '_stubbornly independent'_, in Mirajane's words, preferring to go on solo missions instead even if the young boy does go with Elfman on missions from time to time. Elfman is a little weird about his obsession on '_being a man'_, so Lucy steers clear from him to ensure that his craziness doesn't infect her. Rey is generally quiet, often sitting near the bar doing his own things to give his older sister some silent company whenever he is around. Sometimes he will be reading, sometimes he will be drawing, or sometimes he would simply go to the clearing at the back of the guild to train or spar with the other members who obliged his requests.

Seeing that Rey and Romeo are the only few children in Fairy Tail, Lucy wanted to see if she could befriend and leave a good impression on them. Romeo is easy enough to talk to, but the same cannot be said for Rey.

The boy is plain _antisocial_, period.

Mirajane did tell Lucy that Rey has a girlfriend even at his young age, which always earned the older Strauss a wooden chip hitting her head whenever she tried to gossip with Lucy about this subject. Rey somehow is able to pick up whatever they are saying from wherever he is and he never hesitates in breaking a chip off the wooden table he is using and throwing it at them, shooting a nasty scowl at the same time and asserting that he does **NOT** have a girlfriend.

What scarily good hearing.

Lucy has a healthy dose of fear and respect for Rey after seeing how he was able to pummel his fellow guild members on her first day here. She soon learnt that discussing Rey's 'girlfriend' in the guild is a no go if she wants to walk out of the guild building alive by the end of the day. Knowing Mirajane, she was probably exaggerating about Rey having a girlfriend anyway. When she asked Natsu, the pyromaniac did say that Rey is good friends with a girl not from their guild, but definitely not at the level of romance. She did take a double take when Happy added that the girl is also a Dragon Slayer like Natsu.

It's like users of Lost Magic keeps popping out of nowhere ever since she joined this crazy guild.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and Lucy had grown to accept the eccentricities and quirks of each individual that made Fairy Tail the guild which she loves so much. She even got herself a golden key! The key of Sagittarius!

Things just keep getting better!

* * *

Of fucking course, _Phantom Lord_.

I was away for a solo mission, just for a _week_, and the moment I returned to Magnolia the area where my guild building is at had turned into a warzone. _One week_. It _just_ had to be **_that_**_ one week_ I chose to be out of town that canon decides to strike.

Phantom's own guild building doesn't seem to be doing that well, considering that the robot-looking building's arms had been destroyed. I immediately joined in the battle, transforming an arm to punch some of the Shades who were about to jump at some of my fallen guildmates.

"Rey?!"

"Yes, it's me." I replied as I kicked another Shade away. "Seriously, **_what_** the hell happened?"

A swirl of sand engulfed another group of Shades as Max and I worked together to push back another wave of those inhuman things. I don't see my siblings anywhere, but I know they can take care of themselves. They are strong.

"I will handle them, Rey! Don't push yourself too hard!"

"I'm fine." I replied in slight annoyance. "It's not like I will do a full transformation unless I really have to."

My right arm morphed and transformed into something like a scythe before I used it to cleave the Shades into two, clearing a path open for us.

Till now, I have no idea what my inner beast really is. All that me and my siblings knew is that it is versatile, able to transform its body shape into anything it wishes to best deal with any opponents it might face. Morphing and transforming in accordance to the situation faced is its greatest strength, although the basic body shape of my inner beast never strayed beyond those of a werewolf. This peculiarity of morphing kind of reminded me of Jugo from the Naruto series, the guy who goes crazy at the most random of times but yet able to transform his body however he wishes in combat.

I took a leaf out of Jugo's books and transformed my left arm into a cannon. My knowledge of Jugo's abilities in the Naruto series had been a great source of inspiration for my current fighting style since our abilities are extremely similar in some ways. I gathered magic into my cannon arm before letting loose a focused blast of raw magic at another wave of Shades, taking it out.

Got to love how versatile my inner beast is.

Still, what _exactly_ is it?

I morphed some thrusters on my transformed legs before using the extra propulsion to close the distance in a single leap, taking more of these Shades out when I crashed into them with a loud boom. However, more of them simply took the place of the fallen ones.

This is getting nowhere. There are just too many Shades.

"Max! Gather them into a single spot!"

"On it!"

The furious vortex of sand forcefully herded the Shades into a small area. I enlarged my right arm as much as I could, raising it high up into the air before slamming my beastly palm down onto the Shades, flattening them into pancakes.

I can feel the feral growl at the back of my mind and I pushed it down.

_Keep calm. Not now._

The growling of my inner beast continues, obviously not pleased at being forced to simply watch and not participate in a massacre. Ever since after my first full transformation on that botched up mission, having mental conversations with my inner beast quickly became a thing. It's like doing a first full transformation is the first big step in establishing a permanent link between my mind and my inner beast. Having a separate mind living inside you forces you to try and find a way to coexist with it. I had tried to work things out with my inner beast instead of fully suppressing it, trying to work out a compromise between us. I wanted to try an alternative solution other than total suppression, but so far my inner beast had been mostly unagreeable to anything I proposed.

Hell, why does my power remind me so much of being a jinchuriki?

Another loud explosion occurred not far from where I am and I turned to the source of the noise. _Great_, **_more_** of those Shades.

_You want to let loose some more? Give me some wings._

My inner beast readily complied as I grew wings from my back. I flew up before nose diving at the group of Shades, crash landing within them and cracking the ground in the process. Bony spikes shot out of my body in all directions and pierced through the Shades, dissipating them in one fell swoop.

"Nice job, Rey!"

"Is _anyone _doing _anything _to prevent _more _of them from swarming out?!" I shouted over the chaos as I obliterated another group of these things. They are not that strong individually, but they sure are extremely annoying to deal with as a group.

"Natsu and the rest are up there! We just need to hold them off!"

Right.

If things do pan out like how it happened in canon, then we need to last until Master Makarov returns. I wish I could help to change things for the better, but I am still too weak as a child. As much as the reality of my helplessness stung, the fact is that I cannot help beyond what I am currently doing right now. The best thing I can do right now is to have faith in my friends and continue to help out in any way I can.

If I want to help change things for the better, I need power. I need power to protect my family and friends from whatever may come.

_You know what? You and me, we are going to have a nice long chat after this. It is long overdue. We need to get a lot stronger as soon as possible and the best way to do so is to freaking cooperate with each other. We need to talk._

From how my inner beast growled back at me, it seems like it's open to suggestions.

Well, at least something went right for once.

From how a new rush of power suddenly surged through my body, I guess my inner beast is excited at the prospect of finally being able to be let out more than what I usually allow it to.

_Thanks._

Putting my outstretched arms together, palm facing outwards, I morphed my transformed arms into the biggest cannon I had ever transformed and pointed it at the largest group of Shades that I can currently see. Some of my guildmates are still trying to push them back.

"Hasta la vista, baby."

My cannon fired, and the sight of the Shades getting destroyed from my attack was extremely satisfying to watch.

"HOLY SHIT REY!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Atta boy!"

I can hear my inner beast giving a satisfied rumble at the sight of all the destruction. I turned towards the remainder of Phantom's guild building that is still standing.

_Hey, you up for more?_

And that, was the first time I actually heard my inner beast _howling_ with joy. Property destruction is Fairy Tail's specialty. I had learnt a thing or two in this department from my rowdy and destructive guild mates in my time here. It's time to put what I learnt into practice.

Time to bring Phantom's building down.


	6. Chapter 6- Short Break

"Everyone's worried about you, you know?"

Lucy jumped a little when a familiar voice startled her. She turned back and saw Rey, who had his arms crossed with a very unimpressed look on his face. His arms are wrapped with bandages and his face also has a few plasters stuck on it to cover the cuts that he received in their war with Phantom Lord.

It's all her fault.

Everything did turn out well in the end. They crushed Phantom Lord and their entire guild building as revenge. Master Makarov did reassure her time and time again that the fault does not lie with her, but she still cannot help but feel guilty about it. People were hurt because of her. Her nakama were hurt because of her. Levy, Jet, Droy, Master, had all suffered serious wounds. Her entire guild are also all sporting injuries of their own.

And it is all her fault.

"Ow!"

Lucy rubbed the top of her head in pain on reflex when Rey enlarged his arm a little to chop on it.

"Stop with the pity party. That's the last thing anyone needs. If you really feel sorry about what happened, then make yourself useful with rebuilding the guild building."

Lucy puffed up her cheeks and glared at the little boy. _She_ is the adult here! Why is she getting reprimanded by a child?!

Rey turned around without another word and started to walk back towards the destroyed guild building. Lucy followed, a little annoyed but she cannot deny that her mood had lifted a little. That was probably Rey's attempt in helping her feel better. Not the best way to console a damsel wallowing in guilt, but it had helped.

Who knew that the antisocial boy had such a side?

Lucy put on a smile on her face when she saw her other guild mates waving at her happily when they spotted her. Every one of them are helping out in rebuilding the guild.

Well, there are some whose help have the opposite effect…

"S-See…T-Take that…"

Lucy facepalmed as Gray and Natsu competed in an impromptu contest to see who could carry the greatest number of wooden pillars. Gray visibly strained under the load that he is carrying, and Lucy counted at least _thirty _pillars that the Ice Mage is carrying with pure physical strength alone.

"Oof!"

And in true Fairy Tail fashion, the entire stack of wooden pillars came tumbling down a few seconds later. Great, now _someone_ has to clean up _this_ mess.

Natsu and Happy have no such considerations, choosing to openly laugh at Gray and mock him for his failure. Gray responded with another taunt. Natsu and Gray would have come to blows if it wasn't for Erza stepping in.

"If you've got time to play around, then hurry up and-"

Erza's words were ignored as a huge stack of at least _fifty_ wooden pillars moved at the edge of the construction site. Most of the guild members who spotted it have their jaws dropped in shock, hers included.

"Hey Master, where do you want me to put these?"

"Rey, is that you? Just put them at the corner over there."

Rey walked past them nonchalantly, as if holding up such an impossibly huge stack of wooden pillars only held together by a thick length of rope is a normal occurrence. Then again, she had heard that Rey was the one responsible for demolishing a large part of Phantom's guild building by himself during their war with them. She just didn't know how he did it. Rey didn't even notice how silent the area turned when the rest of the guild spotted how easily he lifted the heavy load, unlike what Gray and Natsu struggled with earlier. They could barely see his small frame beneath all that wood.

"Pfft. The both of you got beaten by a kid."

Cana was the first one to recover and openly laughed at Gray and Natsu. The rest of the guild followed as they guffawed. Natsu and Gray actually had their faces flushed with embarrassment.

"What's so funny?"

The guild laughed even louder when Rey made his reappearance with a confused look on his face, having already deposited the load he was carrying somewhere. Lucy can already imagine the figurative question marks hovering above his head.

"Rey! Fight me!"

"Go fight Gray." Rey snorted as he dusted his hands and turned away from Natsu. Still, Lucy cannot help but wonder a little how a boy only slightly over half of Natsu's age can do something the Dragon Slayer can't.

"Rey's magic gives him innate physical strength." As if reading her mind, Erza explained to the perplexed Lucy. "His senses are also enhanced thanks to his magic. He also trains diligently, so I'm not that surprised that he beat Gray and Natsu in the strength department. At this rate, he might be S Class one day. He's talented."

"Must be one powerful magic."

"It is, but it is also a very dangerous one to the caster. Rey was nearly consumed by his own magic about a year ago on a mission gone wrong. We almost thought we lost him. If that happened, it would have really broken Mira and Elfman."

"What magic does he have?"

"Beast Transformation. It is different from a Take Over even if the visible results look the same. He never did share the more detailed aspects of it, although we all know that overdoing it can cause him to lose his mind and his mental state will descend into a mindless rage, like those of a feral beast. His full transformation right now can only last about a minute before he is forced to cancel it. Even then, Master strictly forbade him from using a full transformation unless it is a life or death situation. It's just that dangerous for him to attempt it at his age."

"You said everyone thought they almost lost him, then…"

"He overused his magic when he was not prepared for it, although we cannot fault him for doing something so reckless. His mission took a turn for the worst and he was forced to undergo a full transformation or die." Erza shrugged. "But everything turned out for the better, so it's fine."

Rey had disappeared by now, presumably going back to shifting whatever heavy load that is required to be moved. Natsu had run after the boy, loudly proclaiming that he will not lose to someone so much younger than him.

"Is he always so quiet?"

A brief period of silence followed, and Lucy seriously thought that she had spoken out of line when a look of sorrow briefly crossed Erza's face upon her question.

"Rey had always been a quiet boy, but he only got this quiet after Lisanna passed away. He had never been the same after her death."

"Lisanna?"

"… She's a member of the Strauss siblings too. Third oldest among them. She passed away two years ago on a mission gone wrong. Let's not bring this up again, Lucy, especially in front of Natsu and the Strauss siblings."

Erza went back to help in the reconstruction efforts after that. Lucy stood rooted to the ground, not knowing how to react.

She and her stupid mouth.

* * *

"W-Was it scary?"

"Not really." I shrugged as Wendy and I communicated with each other through the lacrima orbs. It's night. The guild is still in the process of rebuilding the building into something better. I am in my room lying on my bed as I continue to talk to Wendy. The door is closed in case Mira pokes her head in to tease us and scare Wendy off.

"I heard you demolished half of Phantom's guild building."

"Would have been more if Master didn't appear." I snorted at the memory. While I didn't undergo a full transformation, it was close. That day was the day my inner beast and I had a complete agreement on everything as we sow chaos on the battlefield. I like to think that our relationship had strengthened after that incident. At least my inner beast is not that disagreeable all the time now.

It is also about time to remind my guild mates to stop treating me like a goddamn child. I can pull my own weight thank you very much.

"If only I can do the same…"

"Your magic lies in supporting, not destruction." I helpfully remind the girl who is my best friend. "Besides, violence doesn't suit you."

"But I am a _Dragon Slayer._"

"Are there any dragons for you to slay in this day and age?"

"No, but…"

"You did learn an offensive spell or two from Natsu, right? That's good. You are strong, Wendy. Not in the conventional way, but still strong regardless. Have more confidence in yourself."

"R-Right! Say, we should go out on another mission soon! It's your turn to pick the location! Where do you want to go this time?"

"I'm pretty much indifferent to anything." I admitted. "You can let Carla pick it if you want."

"Rey~ Just pick the location for once! You always let me pick it!"

"Fine, fine." I grumbled, which earned a laugh from Wendy. Where would be good?

"Say, we never got to see the sea before, haven't we?" I mused. "We should take a job that allows us to see how big the sea is."

"Oh, oh! Yes! That will be fun!" Wendy literally jumped in joy at the suggestion. "I remembered that our guild has a job whose location is somewhere near Akane Beach! We can go there after we finish our jobs!"

Akane Beach? I've never been there before but it sure rings a bell.

"Sounds fun. It's settled then. Meet you there two days later?"

"Okay!" Wendy beamed. "I've gotten stronger too! My Dragon Roar has really gotten powerful!"

"Looking forward to it." I replied with a smile on my own. "Blow me off my feet, oh mighty Sky Dragon."

"Rey~ Stop teasing me!"

"You make it too easy."

"Hmph!" Wendy pouted in mock anger. "Keep teasing me and I will blow you away with a hurricane! Laugh some more! I double dare you!"

"Har har har. I am laughing right now. What you gonna do?"

"Y-You-! **REY!**"

"I'm still laughing~"

"Mou~ Stop it! Stop laughing or I… I…"

"Yes?" I questioned dryly. "You will?"

"I… I will make all your food extra spicy! S-So spicy that it will make you cry!"

"You do know that I can eat _really _spicy food, right?"

"Then… Then even _more _spicy!"

"Good luck with that."

"Just watch me!" Wendy declared with a cross look on her face before her facial expression went back to normal. "You didn't overdo it during your guild's war with Phantom, right? Did your inner beast…"

"We came to some sort of agreement. We agreed that if I let him out more, he listens to me more. I'm still not ready to sustain a Full Body Transformation in battle, at least not long enough to be of any use, but I think I'm getting there."

"It will be a different story if I'm with you, right?" Wendy clasped her hands excitedly at the thought. "My magic can protect your mind when you transform fully and you can simply fight without restraint! Think about it! The things we can do!"

"That… actually sounds viable." I spoke out after giving it some thought. "Your magic was what brought me back after all when I fully transformed the first time. Stupid lizard."

"Stupid lizard." Wendy agreed with a nod of her head before she went back to her excitable self once more. "I'm curious though! Imagine if I cast Arms on you while fully transformed, how powerful can you be?! Imagine it! Then if I cast Armor… you will be so strong!"

"Unstoppable." I agreed with a laugh. Wendy's enchantments are nothing to joke about despite her young age. They are potent and she's a natural at this branch of magic. "How could I lose with the mighty Sky Dragon supporting me?"

"Rey, stop teasing me already!"

"You are really making it too easy, you know that?"

"Hmph! I won't talk to you anymore!"

"Really?"

"R-Really!"

_"Really?"_

"... Rey~ Just stop it!"

I only laughed even more.

* * *

"Fairy Tail's brand of crazy is starting to infect you too." Carla pointed at Wendy before casting me an accusing glare. I simply shrugged. Right behind us is the destruction which we helped create. A smoking crater lies where the hideout of a bandit group was supposed to be. The bandits have been all tied up and we are about to start making our journey to hand them in to the nearest group of Rune Knights stationed in the area.

"I-It's not my fault this time!" Wendy waved her arms wildly while trying to defend herself. "That bandit really startled me and then… and then I just used a Dragon Roar on reflex! I-I didn't expect it to do so much damage!"

"Wendy's the mighty Sky Dragon, what do you expect?" I gave Carla a wry smile. "Natsu taught her all her offensive spells. She's going to be the next Natsu."

"N-No! I'm _not _going to be the next Natsu-san!"

Carla shivered a little at the thought of Wendy becoming the next Natsu.

"I really regret not stopping that pyro from corrupting Wendy."

"Carla! I-I am n-not corrupted!"

"At least we don't need to take a pay cut this time because we technically did not destroy any public property." I decided to give Wendy a little help as I towed the pile of unconscious bandits behind us. "Something good came out from all of this."

"_You_ were the reason for the pay cut the last time." Carla pointed at me as she huffed. "We didn't even have enough to buy the ticket back home to Cait Shelter!"

"Hey, I gave you guys money to make the trip home, right?"

"But we shouldn't have needed to take the pay cut in the first place if you weren't so adamant on trying to blast everything with that stupid arm cannon!"

"I needed field practice-"

"Not an excuse!"

"Can we just hurry with it?" Wendy whined. "I want to hurry and go to Akane Beach and see the sea!"

"How can we refuse when the mighty Sky Dragon has spoken? Right, Carla?"

"Rey!" Wendy huffed as she put her hands on her hips. "Stop calling me that already! I'm not mighty!"

"You will one day." I snorted. "You are the dragon that rules the skies. There's no reason why you wouldn't grow to be powerful."

Carla simply tuned out whatever we say with practiced ease.

"I didn't even manage to learn half the things Grandeeney knew!"

"Then create your own spells. Surely you can do that? You are a natural born genius in enchantments, you said so yourself. In that case, create your own spells that even Grandeeny can be proud of."

"For once, this idiot is right." Carla agreed. "You need to have more confidence in yourself, Wendy. You are not weak by any means but you keep giving people that very impression because of your personality."

"You guys make it sound so easy." Wendy muttered under her breath. "How can I even surpass Grandeeney when I barely scraped the surface of my magic?"

"You have to believe that _you can_. If you don't, then you would have already lost the battle even before it began." I chided my friend as the outpost of the Rune Knights came into view. "Well, we are here. We can drop the bandits off and then we can finally go see the sea."

Wendy perked up at those words as her eyes shone in delight.

"The sea! _The sea!_"

She's too innocent for the world, really.

* * *

"They are all so good looking! Which one should I pick? Ahh! I don't know!"

The first thing Wendy did when we arrived at the nearest town after our mission is to drag me along with her to buy some swimwear. It's more than just awkward not only because of the gender difference when we are in a shop that sells _only _ladies swimwear, but also because she's asking for _my _opinion on which ones look best on her.

I'm not sure if she's really that innocent or unaware of the awkwardness her actions bring about, or that she simply doesn't care.

"Ah, this one! Let's try this one!" Wendy picked out a sky blue two piece swimsuit before turning around excitedly in my direction and held it in front of me. "How about this one, Rey?"

"It looks nice." I admitted. "As long as you like it then just buy it."

"Okay!" She chirped back happily before skipping away and dragged me along as well. "You should pick one too! Or I can pick for you!"

"Firstly, this place only sells ladies swimwear. Secondly, I already bought one at Magnolia and it is now sitting in my bag."

"Awww~ And here I thought I can help you pick out your swimsuit!" Wendy lamented before turning to Carla. "Carla! You picked out yours already?"

"Since long ago." Carla scowled. "You took an hour, Wendy. _One hour!_"

"Eh?" Wendy looked shocked at the statement. "I took _that _long?"

"Let's just pay up and go." I gently pushed the ladies forward from behind. "At this rate we wouldn't even have a place to stay at Akane Beach. It is a pretty popular tourist attraction after all."

"I-I haven't tried it on yet!" Wendy said immediately as she held up the article of clothing in her hands. "What if it doesn't fit?!"

"For goodness sake, Wendy. Just _hurry_." Carla facepalmed as she said that. "We've been here for far too long."

"Eep! Okay, okay! I will hurry! Just don't get angry Carla!"

"You can be a little nicer to her, you know?" I glanced at Carla as Wendy scurried off to the fitting room. "She was genuinely enjoying herself."

"It was _one hour._"

"It's not like we are in a real rush for time."

"You spoil her too much sometimes." Carla crossed her arms with a scowl on her face. "She will never grow up and be independent at this rate. She relies on us too much and there's no saying that we can always be there for her."

"She's already plenty independent in my book. You just don't see it because you refuse to see how much she had really grown. You keep seeing her as the same weak little girl that needs your protection when you first befriend her. You are the one that needs to change your view of her."

Carla's scowl deepened.

"She's a _Sky Dragon Slayer_, Carla." I reasoned. "Grandeeney picked her out of the many children in this world she could have picked as her apprentice. She must have seen something in Wendy that we didn't see, a sort of strength that nobody else possesses. We shouldn't put her down or discourage her from doing anything she likes to do. If you want to help build up her confidence, what we should be doing is encouraging her in a way that does not seem condescending."

"I am **_not _**condescending-"

"Yes, you are. Sometimes." I cut Carla off. "You just don't realise it yourself when you become like that so I am telling you now because we are friends. I know you are protective of Wendy but have a little faith in her. She is strong. She just needs some time to grow. There will be a day when she can stretch her own wings and fly without our support. We just have to give her a little push here and there when she needs it."

Carla looked away with her arms still crossed. I'm not sure if she is mad at me for my honest words, but those are my heartfelt thoughts. Wendy cannot grow if Carla keeps hovering around her like a mother hen.

"I'm done!" Wendy made her reappearance as she skipped over to us in the swimsuit she picked out. She twirled on the spot before stretching her arms out and looked at us expectantly. "How do I look?"

"What can I say? You look like a mighty Sky Dragon."

"Rey!"

"Okay, fine." I decided to let up on the teasing for a change. "Cute. Happy?"

_"C-Cute?" _Wendy squeaked as she looked down at herself before looking back up.

"I still think that you should pick something that covers more skin." Carla let her opinion known rather bluntly. "But I guess this is okay."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now can we finally make our way to Akane Beach?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Night had fallen by the time we reached our destination. So, we grabbed a quick meal before trying to look for a place to stay for the next few days where we will be enjoying ourselves here. Every inn or resort we know is packed. It was after another two hours of wandering around that we finally managed to find ourselves a room for the duration of our stay here.

"You are **_not _**to cross this line." Carla said very sternly as she drew an imaginary line along the middle of the large bed of the room where the three of us are staying at. It was the last room left and the only bed in this room is a king-sized one.

This is so damn awkward. However, Wendy doesn't seem to know what awkwardness is when it comes to gender differences.

"Eh? Why, Carla?"

"What do you mean **_why?!_**" Carla snapped back comically. "You are a _girl _and he is a _boy!_ **_That's why!_**"

"Eh…?" Wendy tilted her head to a side with a confused look on her face. "But this is Rey though. He's nice."

"WENDY! STOP BEING SO TRUSTING!"

"Carla's right." I sighed out loud, not knowing what to do in the face of this kind of innocence. How can someone be so pure? "There are times when you shouldn't be so trusting. I should just take the floor."

"No!" Wendy adamantly refused in a rare show of courage. She turned back to Carla. "Carla, don't be mean!"

"_Mean?_ I'm helping you here, Wendy! You are always too trusting! What if you get taken advantage of?!"

This went on back and forth between the girls and only ended when Carla decided to place herself in between Wendy and I on the bed, glaring at me the entire time as all three of us lay down on the bed to sleep.

Seriously, this is one overprotective cat.

But at least she has Wendy's best interests in mind. I like that.

* * *

"Mine's bigger!"

"Mine's better looking."

"How is that better looking? Carla! Which one is better?"

"Your sandcastles are both equally ugly."

"C-Carla!"

It's the second day we are at Akane Beach. Wendy really loves coming to the beach everyday, be it to learn how to swim or building sandcastles. Carla and I obliged her. As long as she enjoys herself, we are fine with whatever she wants to do.

"Surfing?"

"We should try it!"

"No offence, Wendy, but you regularly trip yourself even while walking on a flat road. I don't think surfing is that good of an idea."

"R-Rey!"

I was proven right when she didn't manage to balance herself on a surfboard for any longer than ten seconds.

"Shaved ice! We can't claim to have visited a beach without eating some shaved ice!"

"Wendy, you shouldn't take such a big bite-"

"COLD!"

"... That's what I was trying to warn you."

Her brain freeze lasted for quite a while. Carla scolded her for that stupid action for a whole ten minutes.

"This is fun!" Wendy exclaimed as we returned back to our room. The day's going to be over soon and we will be leaving this place tomorrow morning.

"It's a nice change of pace." I agreed. "At least I don't have to put up with my guild's antics."

"Your guild's crazy." Carla deadpanned. "Wendy and I wouldn't survive a day in there."

"You will live. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. You should try it sometime."

"No thanks."

"Carla and I will be using the bath first, Rey." Wendy called out as she took a towel and a change of clothes from her bag.

"Yeah, sure." I replied as I took out a lacrima orb. "I will be calling Mira-nee in the meantime. Take your time."

With that said, Wendy and Carla entered the bathroom as I called my older sister. Hopefully my guild mates didn't tear down whatever we built up during their guild brawls.

"Mira-nee?"

"Oh, Rey! How's it at Akane Beach?" My sister greeted me with a smile.

"Had fun." I told her truthfully. "It's relaxing for a change. Trying to constantly prevent the idiots from destroying the construction work was stressful."

"I'm sure that's not the only reason." Mira said with a sly look on her face. "It must be relaxing for you because a certain blue-haired girl is with you, am I right? Have you guys kissed yet? I can't wait to be an aunt!"

"Mira-nee." I sighed in exasperation. "We're only _twelve_."

"A few more years later and you will be an adult!" My sister said with a clap of her hands. "Time flies, you know? I've already picked out a few names for your future kids-"

"Mira-nee."

"Fine, fine. You are no fun at all." My sister let out an insufferable dramatic sigh. "How's Wendy?"

"She clearly enjoyed herself. It was worth coming here. The sea is nice. When Elf-nii gets back maybe the three of us should come here sometime. As a family outing or something. We've never been to the beach before, all three of us together."

"It's a good idea." My sister nodded in agreement. "Elfman should be back from his mission around the same time as you. It will take awhile for me to clear my photoshoot schedule, but it shouldn't take too long! We can go on a family outing! You should bring Wendy and Carla along as well!"

_"Mira-nee."_

"I'm serious!"

"Instead of me, you should focus on Elfman. _He's _the adult."

"Ah! You're right!" Mira did a shocked gasp and I rolled my eyes. She's really a drama queen. "What kind of girls do you think Elfman is into?! Are there any girls from our guild that he likes? Oh no we need to grill everything out of him when he returns!"

"Please do." I said in amusement. Sorry, Elf-nii, but your sacrifice will be remembered. At least this way our older sister wouldn't bug me as much about her imaginations of me getting together with Wendy.

"I've got to go, Rey. I have a photoshoot tomorrow and I need to wake up really early for that. Stay safe and have fun, okay? See you back home!"

"You stay safe too." I replied. "See you back home."

With that, our call ended. If only Mira still has her magic, Elfman and I wouldn't need to worry about her as much when she travels around to do her photoshoot. We know better than to dwell on what could have been, but sometimes your thoughts just wander. Fiore is not a safe place. Far from that. Dark guilds, bandits, magical creatures. All of those are problems that have been and will continue to infest Fiore.

I know Mira's strong even without her magic, but sometimes I just can't help but be worried about her when she travels around on her own like that.

I put the lacrima orb back into my bag. Wendy and Carla don't seem like they would be finished with their bath anytime soon. Might as well do something to pass the time. Draw something, perhaps? I'm not an accomplished artist like Reedus, but I'm good enough. Drawing helps to take my mind off things.

I kind of miss Lisanna too. It doesn't hurt as much anymore when I think about her, but I still miss her.

I should draw her while waiting for Wendy. I really miss Lisanna's smile.

* * *

"Sorry for making you wait!"

"It's fine." Wendy watched as Rey gave her a gentle smile, a sketchpad and pencil in hand from where he was sitting on the bed. What's he drawing this time?

She leaned her head closer to her best friend, spotting the sketch of a woman drawn on the sketchpad. She looks a lot like Mirajane, just that with short hair.

"Is that…?"

"Lisanna-nee." Rey replied with a soft smile. "I miss her smile. I'm so afraid that one day I will forget how she looks like so I draw images of her from time to time. Lisanna-nee is always smiling. I want to capture that moment."

"I… I miss Grandeeney too." She whispered as she sat down on the bed beside him, Carla floating behind them. "It's been seven years."

"I can draw her for you as best as I can." She perked up when she heard that. "No promises about the quality though."

"R-Really? You can draw her?"

"I'm not _that _good of an artist, but I can try."

So, she told him how Grandeeney looks like. Her gentle smile. Her large wings. How she has feathers instead of scales but that doesn't mean they are any less tough than scales. How her feet resemble talons. Her motherly appearance and that kind gaze. How she looks like when she takes her soaring into the skies.

The finished product is not as accurate as what she remembered Grandeeney to be, but it is close.

"Can I have it?" She asked him softly from where the three of them are huddled together on the bed and share the huge blanket. It's been a long time since she can talk about Grandeeney like that. She really misses her.

"I meant to give it to you anyway. That is, if you don't mind my subpar drawing skills."

"Your drawing is pretty accurate already!" She quickly reassured Reydell. "Really!"

"Well, in that case, here you go. One picture of a mighty Sky Dragon for another mighty Sky Dragon."

"R-Rey!"

She carefully kept the sketch of Grandeeney in her bag, wondering what her foster mother would say if she could see her now. What would she think of Rey?

Drawing done, Rey quickly showered as she took this time to dry her hair with a hairdryer and also helped Carla to dry her fur. It's a short vacation, but this is a fun one.

"Ne, Carla, we should have such vacations some other time."

"Just so that you can meet Rey? I told you, Wendy! No dating until-"

"W-We're not d-d-dating! What are you thinking about?!"

"What are **_you _**thinking about?"

"I just thought we should enjoy ourselves from time to time, that's all! The guild is nice, but… it can get a little boring in there."

"Tch." Carla clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "You just want an excuse to see Rey. Like you two don't meet up often enough already from all your missions that you two took together."

"Carla~"

"Urgh." Carla facepalmed. Screw her soft heart. This is a lost cause. "Do whatever you want."

"Yay! Thanks!"

That innocent smile. That should be illegal.

But that's why she will protect that smile as Wendy's best friend. She will protect her innocence no matter the cost.

Because they are partners.

* * *

"Huh? Natsu and guys went to Akane Beach?"

"They _just _left." Mira stated as she wiped the mugs dry with a cloth. "Wonder why you didn't spot them when you returned."

"Bad timing, maybe? Anyway, I'm going back to help in the rebuilding efforts. It's good physical training anyway."

"It's always training for you." My older sister chided with a frown. "Learn how to take a break. You are still young. Enjoy your life! Live a little!"

"I _already _took a break. Is Elf-nii not back yet?"

"He should be back by dinner today. I plan to cook up a feast." Mira said with a laugh. "You mind getting the groceries later?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"The usual. Or you can just pick whatever you like. We are running out of soy sauce if I remember correctly, so do help to buy a bottle on the way back."

"And then remember to grill Elf-nii about the type of girl he likes later after dinner."

"Oh, yes! That! You pin him down, Rey, and I'll do the questioning! Oh, wait! We should start listing down the questions we want to ask him later!"

"Why does this feel like an interrogation?"

"Because it is!"

"What kind of guys do _you _like?" I asked back. "So that Elf-nii and I know what and who to look out for to beat into a pulp."

"Hmm…" Mira put a finger to her chin in thought. "I never thought that much about it, to be honest. Nobody really caught my eye… hmm..."

"Should Elf-nii and I set you up on a blind date?" I said with a suggestive wag of my eyebrows. It's not everyday I have this opportunity to tease my sister.

"No. I don't trust the both of you when it comes to things like this."

"Have _some _faith in us, would you?"

"This is where we part ways, my dear little brother." Mira tapped a finger on my nose like how she likes to do all the time. "You and Elfman, I swear, are denser than woodblocks. No, _steel _blocks. You guys are hopeless in the romance department. It's a wonder how you managed to snag Wendy as your own."

_"Mira-nee."_

"Give it a few more years and you will see that I'm right." Mira crossed her arms with a smug look on her face. "Never estimate a woman's sixth sense when it comes to love. We are scarily accurate in this department."

"I'm too lazy to argue with you." I sighed as I stood up from where I was sitting at the makeshift bar. "I'm going back to help the guys out."

I turned to leave, and it was then my older sister suddenly exclaimed her words out loud enough for the entire guild to hear.

"Wendy's a nice girl, Rey! Start thinking of what kind of ring you would put on her finger!"

**"Mira-nee!"**


	7. Chapter 7- Return of the Demon

I really didn't know how I didn't link the events of Akane Beach and the Tower of Heaven together.

On second thought, it's not like I could be of any great help even if I'm there. I'm still too weak as a mage. I lack both experience and power. I am already a lot more powerful since my first full transformation, but it is still lacking. There is also no shortcut to gaining experience.

It was when Team Natsu got back from Akane Beach that we found out about the Tower of Heaven and I remembered about it. It was also in this period of time that Gajeel and Juvia joins Fairy Tail as well. Time really passes by faster than I could comprehend. It will not take long before any foreknowledge I still remembered about this world will be swiftly rendered useless.

It scares me a little, but at the same time I felt relieved. At least I no longer will need to carry this burden on my shoulders and truly live in this world like any other normal person.

The next event, if I remembered correctly, is the Fantasia Parade. The Battle of Fairy Tail. Again, I have no idea what use I can be at this point of time. The Thunder God Tribe is way out of my league. I remembered that even my brother was defeated by Evergreen and he is way stronger and more experienced than me. If even _he _doesn't stand a chance, what help could I give?

That feeling of hopelessness and helplessness really stung a lot.

The only thing that made me feel a sense of relief was that my foreknowledge allows me to know that everything will turn out fine. Laxus will be excommunicated and I don't know if I would ever see him again, but at least nobody died or anything. Laxus is incredibly strong even for S Class mages. His strength is nothing to joke about.

What I'm concerned about is my sister.

In canon, Elfman nearly dying by Freed's hands is what triggered her to reawaken her magic. Thus, I'm now stuck in a dilemma. If I let things pan out as in canon, Mira might awaken her magic like how it is supposed to be but at the same time, there is a chance that things will not go strictly as to how it happened and Elfman might really die by Freed's hands. This is something I don't want to see and I will never allow it to happen. Mira might not awaken her magic if such a thing did not happen in front of her but compared to Elfman's life, I think I know the decision I'm going to make.

So, the only thing I could do as a helpless child _(and damn it I really hate being a weak and useless child all the damn time)_ is to make sure that my two older siblings get out of this alive and hopefully, if things do go my way, Mira would still get her magic back. Call it a sixth sense, but I have a feeling that she might need it in the future.

All of this is so difficult. I really hate being burdened with such foreknowledge at times. If only I could do better, Lisanna might not-

I need to stop right there before I start to mope around and caused my older siblings to be worried about me again.

_"Is it going to be fun? Are you going to be in it?"_

"Uh, yeah." I replied to Wendy as we had another one of our nightly conversations held through communication lacrima. "It's something we do every year."

_"Then I'm coming over to watch! So will Carla!"_

What? That definitely changes a few things. Not only that, things might get very dangerous for her! She's not a combat mage!

Still… Wendy might be a great help considering what she can do. I do remember Master Makarov's heart giving out at the worst of times during this arc in canon. Wendy can definitely help in this regard if that really happened.

I guess all I have to do is to protect her if she really needs it. Even without my protection, she's strong. She should be alright.

"In that case, I'll be waiting for you to come over to Magnolia." I replied with a smile. "My house does have a spare room that you and Carla can temporarily stay in."

_"Really? Yay! A sleepover! I never had one before!"_

"I'm warning you. Mira-nee and Elf-nii will definitely tease us like no tomorrow. You better prepare yourself for it."

_"E-Eh? Mou~ Again?"_

"You know what they are like." I sighed. "Problems of being the youngest in the family."

Wendy giggled a little at the remark.

"At least you have a family. I'm kinda jealous of that." She said with a slight sigh before brightening up once more.

_"I heard your guild now has another Dragon Slayer?"_

"His name is Gajeel Redfox, previously of Phantom Lord. Iron Dragon Slayer."

_"Oh, yes! That one! I had heard about him!" _Wendy clapped her hands together in excitement. _"How's he?"_

"Not very pleasant and not very sociable." I admitted. "I suggest you don't get your hopes up. Even in Fairy Tail, there are people who still hold a grudge for what he did in our war with Phantom Lord. Many people are not happy with Master's decision to accept him in. They only held their tongue in front of him out of respect for the Master."

_"And you?"_

"Neutral, I guess." I shrugged. "But that's probably because he didn't do anything that warranted any hate from me. It would be a totally different story if he had hurt Mira-nee or Elf-nii in the war."

_"You know, after the Fantasia Parade you should totally come over to Cait Shelter for a visit!"_ Wendy offered excitedly._ "I want to show you what my guild does! It will be fun!"_

"That… does sound nice." I admitted. "I could take a few jobs that will be in the area near to where your guild is and we can do it together. Just like always."

_"Uh huh! It will be fun! I can take you exploring the forests around the guild! There are so many places to play over there! I can show you where Carla and I used to play all the time!"_

Our conversations carried on into the night, with Wendy talking excitedly about the things we could do together if I visit and stay over at Cait Shelter for a short while.

It's during normal times like these that I truly felt like I'm just another ordinary person living an ordinary life like any other. Like a true resident of this world.

I never told her, but I'm extremely thankful to Wendy for that.

* * *

"So everyone will be on the parade float? Wah! That sounds so fun! And oh, oh, what will the rest be doing? Huh, dance? What does the dance look like? Creating things with magic?! I wish I can do something like that too!"

Gajeel Redfox narrowed his eyes from where he perched himself on the second floor. Another Dragon Slayer had somehow popped up from out of nowhere while he was taking a damn nap in a corner of the guild building. This time, instead of a fiery idiot like Salamander, it is a little girl.

His eyes narrowed further when he spotted the girl's feline companion. The gears in his brain started to turn.

Salamander, blue cat. Little girl, white cat.

He, _no cat._

Fuck. Why does he not have a cat?

That settles it. He is so going to find himself a cat somewhere. A cat that can easily beat all the other cats of the other Dragon Slayers. The strongest cat in the world!

From what the Salamander told him after their destructive battle in the guild war between his former guild and Fairy Tail, the little girl's dragon is like theirs. Disappeared on the same date and year without a goddamn trace. This is starting to smell really fishy but it's not like there is anything for them to follow up on.

Damn Metalicana.

The little girl happily skipped along as the women in Fairy Tail happily showed her around the new guild, including the costumes for the upcoming Fantasia Parade and those stupid parade floats. He had heard from someone somewhere that the little boy named Rey is her boyfriend or some bullshit like that. He doesn't really care about gossip so he didn't bother to ask further.

What he really wants to know is how strong the little boy really is. A mage's capabilities are not limited to their age. If you are strong, you are strong. The boy had single handedly destroyed a large part of Phantom's guild building in the war despite his age. Granted, his fight with the stupid Salmander brought down whatever was left standing, but the fact that the boy can do what he did already tells him a lot about his potential.

He let a small fanged grin appear on his face. Fairy Tail really is made up of interesting people.

Satisfied with what he sees, he turned around to leave the guild building, several job requests in hand. Not a lot of people like to see him around considering what he did and they still hold a damn grudge, but whatever. Like he cares. He will just get out of their sight until the negative sentiments die down.

Meanwhile, he should also really start to look for a damn cat as his partner. He will have the strongest cat among the Dragon Slayers damn it! Why the hell is **_he _**the only one with no cat?!

* * *

The Battle of Fairy Tail really happened. Furthermore, it started out like what I remembered it to be. My sister got turned into stone along with several other female mages of the guild. I'm not worried about them because I know what will happen. The protection offered by Erza's artificial eye will kick in soon enough. We just have to wait until then. I have faith in Erza's abilities to bring them all back.

I also thank the stars that I have enough foresight to use my body to block the Thunder God Tribe's vision of Wendy when they made their sudden appearance. They seemed like they only just got back and hence didn't know about Wendy being here in Magnolia. It helps that Wendy had automatically hidden herself behind me the moment they appeared. She's still a little scared of them even after having seen them once before.

"They are gone." I whispered to Wendy the moment the entire guild rushed out in their mad rush to defeat the Thunder God Tribe. "Do you think you can undo the petrification?"

"U-Uh… I can try!"

"That's right!" Master Makarov visibly perked up after hearing my words. "Maybe Wendy could do something about the petrification!"

"Cool!" Natsu yelled. "Then we go beat Laxus into a pulp!"

"Did you forget that Freed's runes somehow don't let you leave?" I reminded him dryly. "Are you secretly over 80 years old?"

"Uh, maybe? Who knows?"

"I-I think there's a reaction from Erza-san!" Wendy exclaimed in excitement as she placed her hands on Erza and she let her magic run its course. "There's a chance that I can reverse the petrification done on her!"

"And if Erza's back into action, we can win! Oh yeah!" Natsu cheered out loud as he breathed fire into the air. "Now I'm all fired up!"

"Chill a little, will you?" I rolled my eyes at Natsu's antics. "Defeating Laxus is not going to be easy. You know how strong he is."

"That's why all the more I want to defeat him!"

"He's hopeless." Carla summarised our thoughts with a single statement. "He just loves to fight a little too much."

A shine of bright light caught our attention as right before our very eyes, the Queen of Fairies was brought out of her petrification state.

"E-Erza-san! How do you feel? Any discomfort?"

"Wendy?" Erza blinked in bafflement as she looked around before looking back at Wendy with a smile. "I feel fine, thanks for asking."

"Erza! Right now-"

"I know. I heard everything." Erza said with a smirk as she requipped into her usual armour. "Leave Evergreen to me. I will get the girls back. That is, if Wendy didn't beat me to the punch."

"I-I'll try my best to get the rest out of their petrification too!"

"That is for the best." Master Makarov nodded in agreement. Our attention was drawn to the beep of Freed's Jutsu Shiki as the number of participants left updated itself.

"Wait, five? Who else do we have?!"

"You guys forget that we have one more contender of Fairy Tail's strongest." Erza shook her head a little in amusement as she slowly made her way out. "Hint, he's rarely in the guild."

"Mystogan. I see." I nodded my head in realisation. "He sure has great timing."

"Rey, you stay here with Wendy." Erza gave me my instructions before she left for real. "There's no way you can beat any of the Thunder God Tribe on your own. Just look after the ladies and Master. Can I trust you to do that?"

"Yeah." I replied Erza with a smile. "Beat them all up, Erza."

Erza replied with a smile of her own.

"Got it."

* * *

"I smell him. This way."

Erza upheld her promise and defeated Evergreen, undoing the petrification on the rest of the girls in the process. Mira was worried about Elfman and there's no way I will let her walk out there into the warzone alone, so I accompanied her. Wendy wanted to follow us but similar to how the Jutsu Shiki applied to Natsu and Gajeel, she somehow couldn't make it out. So, she's stuck there with Carla keeping her company until Levy finds a way to take down Freed's runes.

I really don't know if I should be hoping that we bump into Freed.

"There!"

My nose finally picked out a definite scent as we both ran up to Elfman. He's lying prone on the ground, barely able to move.

"Elf-nii!"

"R-Rey? Nee-san?"

"Don't move. You are in really bad shape." I muttered as I tried to lift him up. Got to thank the physical strength augmentation my Inner Beast grants me. "Mira-nee's alright now. You can rest. Mira-n- Mira-nee? Are you okay? H-Hey! Why are you crying?!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" My sister kept sobbing uncontrollably as Elfman and I looked on in confusion. "Back when Phantom attacked… And now… I couldn't do anything…"

"The only thing you have to do when this is over is to greet everyone with a smile." Elfman said weakly as he gave his own smile to cheer our sister up. "Nee-san, please stop. You shouldn't have to cry."

"Yeah, don't cry." I said as I tried to dab away her tears. "You have always protected us. Let us do the protecting this time. We are the men in the house. Right, Elf-nii?"

"That's right- Ow!"

"I told you not to move." I grumbled as the three of us slowly moved out of the area. Mira had laughed a little through the sobs upon hearing Elfman's comical cry of pain, so she should be feeling better. I think.

"Hold on." I froze. Partly in fear and partly in dread when I recognised just whose scent I caught.

_No damn way_. I made sure to take a different route too, a route that I think is least likely to encounter Freed because after thinking through it, I decided that there's no way I am going to risk Elfman's _life _just for a small chance of my sister getting her magic back. How is it possible that we still encounter him?

"Rey?" Mira asked in concern.

"Freed. It's Freed. I think he's fighting Cana." I gritted out in frustration. "They are up ahead. I smell them."

"Then we should go and help them!" Elfman yelled out. "There's no-"

"There's _no way_ you are going back into the battle." I stressed. "Look at your injuries! You seriously think you can take on Freed in this state?!"

"Rey's right." Mira supported my point with a slight frown on her face. "There's no way that you can continue fighting any longer, Elfman. As much as I hate to do this, none of us will be of help to Cana even if we join the battle. We have to leave and trust her to be able to take Freed down."

"But-"

"No buts." Mira cut Elfman off. "We will find another way to help Cana, just not now."

"R-Rey! Mira-san! Elfman-san!"

"Wendy?!" I cannot help but exclaim in worry when I see her running towards us. Why is she here too?!

"If Wendy can heal me back to normal, then I can fight, right?" Elfman turned to my older sister with a determined look on her face. "Freed is strong! I don't think Cana can take him on by herself!"

"Elf-"

"Please!"

I facepalmed. This is going to shit from the get-go.

"We saw Cana ahead!" Carla quickly shouted at us. "It's bad! I don't think Freed is showing any mercy!"

Shit. We all know about Freed's personality. To him, Laxus' word is law. At this point in the series he will really not hesitate to kill any of us for Laxus, that is Freed in a nutshell. If I let Elfman go and help Cana, he might die. Yes, my sister might or might not regain her magic from this but that's beside the point. The point is that _Elfman _might _die_. If I don't let Elfman help, then _Cana _might _die_. Freed won't show any mercy. I cannot rely on canonical luck when lives are at stake.

Fuck this.

"- that's why I should go! I'm the only man here who can possibly fight Freed, nee-san! Your magic-! You know what I'm talking about! Wendy's not a combatant and there's no way Rey is going to-"

"Oh _yes _I'm going to."

With a swift chop to Elfman's neck, I knocked him out like a light and gently placed him on the ground. I've decided. If there's anyone who is going to face the risk of death, let it be me. I've always been the one who is being protected all along. This time, I want to do the protecting.

I really don't want to lose anybody else because of my inability and weakness. Not after losing Lisanna.

"Rey?!"

"Take care of Elf-nii. He's in no condition to fight." I told my older sister as I sprouted my wings. "I will bail Cana out of there. Wendy, Carla, stay with Mira-nee. Don't join the fight no matter what happens."

"REY!"

Ignoring their cries for me to come back, I quickly dashed off to where I can smell Cana and Freed fighting it out.

Hopefully, my presence will not make everything worse.

* * *

Cana is really stronger than he thought.

Freed Justine looked down from where he was standing. Cana Alberona is still struggling to get up, the effects of his Jutsu Shiki making themselves known to her. There's no way she can win. He doesn't want to do this, but he has his orders.

He will kill her, because Laxus said so.

"FREED!"

A shout of his name got him to look up. It was just in time as he narrowly dodged a concentrated beam of magic fired at him from afar. Reydell Strauss flew in and put himself in front of Cana.

"Get out of my way, Rey. My business is with Cana." Freed steeled his heart as he spoke his words. Cana is one thing. He doesn't think that he can stomach killing a child, even if he knows he will do it if Laxus orders him to.

Cana apparently have the same thoughts as well.

"Rey! Get out of here! You are no match for Freed!"

"I know." Rey easily picked Cana up and put her aside out of harm's way. "But we don't have any fighters left and I cannot possibly stand aside and watch you get yourself killed by this creep."

"Don't worry about me! Just-"

"Just _watch _me." Rey said as he stretched his wings and took flight once more. "I'm no S Class mage, but I can fight pretty darn well too."

"Reydell Strauss, this is my last warning to you." Freed warned the child in front of him one last time. "Do _not _interfere. I won't show mercy, even if it is to a child like you."

"Then **_don't_**."

Rey cocked his fist back before letting loose a powerful punch, immediately firing off a gust of wind like he just fired an air cannon. The attack tore up the pavement with it and it would have gotten him too if it wasn't for him conjuring his wings in time to dodge the unexpected attack.

"GO DOWN!"

Freed felt his bones rattling as he used his sword to block Rey's next punch, who had somehow closed the gap in the blink of an eye through the ability of flight. Rey didn't let up as his punches rained down on him in quick succession, not giving Freed a chance to regather himself.

Is his aim to not give him a chance to use his Jutsu Shiki by making sure he doesn't have the time to write them? Smart move, but he had seen better mages than Rey use this tactic against him and fail.

"Dark Ecriture: Pain!"

Rey let out a scream of pain from the runes written on him but pressed on his assault nevertheless. It was then that Freed started to worry. He had seen this kind of mindless rage once before when Rey was stuck in a full transformation. There's no stopping him once he gets to that stage.

Before everything gets worse for him, he needs to stop Rey _now_.

Another powerful blast of magic was fired from Rey's arm cannons and it caught Freed in it, blasting him into a wall. There's another boom as Rey somehow launched himself by morphing thrusters on his legs and used the propulsion to ram him through the wall, causing Freed to cough up blood.

"JUST STAY DOWN ALREADY, FREED!"

"Dark Ecriture: Fear!"

His spell forced Rey to take a brief pause as he struggled with the new sensation of fear assaulting his body. Freed used this time to quickly write up a new attack.

"Dark Ecriture: Slay!"

A powerful slashing attack struck Rey as Freed swung his rapier. The boy went tumbling as blood spilled from his body and Freed mentally hoped that the boy would just stay down already. He made sure to not make that attack fatal but he might not have a choice if the boy chose to stand up again.

Laxus' orders will not go unheeded.

He was disappointed when the boy did the exact opposite of what he hoped for. Already, his wounds are visibly healing and closing up at a rapid rate with a hiss of steam.

"You know, I never got around to thank you and the Thunder God Tribe for bringing me back the last time."

Rey's voice had descended into a growl as he slowly stood back up shakily on his feet. His transformation had already covered more than just his limbs. Part of his torso is starting to transform as well. At this rate, he might really undergo a full transformation.

"However, before is before. Now is now. I know Laxus means the world to you but I will not allow you to kill any one of us in Fairy Tail, Freed. If there's anyone here in the guild that cannot be put down short of decapitation, it's _me_."

The boy took a step forward as his face contorted into a snarl, his teeth starting to turn into fangs.

"You want to kill so badly? _Try killing **me**_."

"Do you really have a death wish?!" Freed exclaimed. "I told you, I'm not showing any mercy!"

"Good thing then." Rey let out another growl as a feral grin spread across his face. "Then I won't hold back too. Laxus won't be around to save you from me this time, Freed. Against absolute power, your runes don't mean shit."

An explosion of noise was the only warning for Freed as he quickly dodged Rey's lariat. Rey is exceptional for his age and it is hard to put him down quietly due to the strength and enhanced healing factor of his magic. Rey's adaptability and tenacity is what makes him so fearsome, but that doesn't mean that there's no way around it.

"Dark Ecriture: Suffering!"

Rey roared out in pain once more as he was halted in his tracks from the attack to his nervous system. Freed quickly unleashed a volley of slashes at the boy but Rey's arms merely morphed thick scales on it that blocked every of his attack and rendered them useless.

Right. His ability to evolve.

Enormous scythes grew on Rey's arms as he used it to slash at him. Freed clicked his tongue in annoyance as he skilfully avoided Rey's slashes. It seems that if he doesn't get serious soon there's no way he can put Rey down. The boy is tenacious and so is his magic. The fact that his magic can gradually evolve to counter his own in a drawn out fight spells trouble too.

He doesn't want to do this but it seems that it is necessary. He will have to take Rey out in one big attack. A spell so powerful that he won't have the time to react and defend. A spell that will put Rey out of the count for sure without letting him a chance to recover and evolve.

Despite the side which he is fighting on, Freed can't help but let out a small smile. The boy had really grown since he last saw him. If only they are on the same side.

**"Dark Ecriture: Darkness!"**

The power of a demon rushed through his veins as Freed immediately used his next attack, intending to take Rey out for good.

**"Darkness Flare Bomb!"**

A bomb made of dark energy enveloped Rey entirely as the boy screamed in pain. This time, his scream made Freed feel phantom pains just by hearing it. Taking on one of his most destructive spells like that has to hurt. Even Laxus will be feeling it if he took it on directly like Rey did.

But his job is now done.

"I… will… stop you…"

To his shock, the boy was still standing when the attack died down. Even in his current mangled and bloodied state, his body is still healing and attempting to further evolve even if Rey is barely conscious at this point.

_"Go ahead and kill them."_

Laxus' words ring in his ears as Freed clenched his fists.

For Laxus. For the sake of his dream.

**"Dark Ecriture: Death!"**

His spell shot towards Rey like a bullet just when a feeling of undiluted fear crept up his spine.

**"STAY AWAY FROM MY LITTLE BROTHER!"**

A flare of darkness magic blew his spell away and before Freed could even react to the sudden change. A nasty right hook socked him in the jaw and catapulted him into the air.

Freed's eyes widened in shock upon recognising the newcomer who just joined in the fray.

**"Touch Rey… and you die."**

A sight everybody had thought they would never see again resurfaced. A she-demon with scaly arms and a thick tail hovered in front of Rey with those pitch black wings of hers. The demon's face is contorted in rage as the surroundings are being slowly grinded to dust with the outburst of the demon's immense magical powers.

Freed can only try his best to fight back the sensation of fear as he came to terms with the unexpected development of the situation.

The Demon of Fairy Tail has returned.


End file.
